Shaman King: The Time Saga
by Satine89
Summary: Yoh Asakura's newest adventure involves the beautiful Kimaguire Okono. More madness from me, Satine89. Falling in Time has been added Pg13 for violence and sexual themes
1. Frozen In Time: Part One

Frozen in Time

A Shaman King Story

Written by Satine89

If, on any given day, Manta was actually spending some time with Yoh, freed from the demoness from heck formerly known as Anna, it was a good day. And today was one such day. Leaning his face down on a desk at Shinra Private Junior High was Yoh Asakura. His black hair was falling into his face, masking his amber-like eyes. His uniform shirt, par usual, was unbuttoned, like most every guy's. Clinging to his chest was a bear-talon necklace, and above his ears was a pair of headphones.

Manta Oyamada sat in a chair near Yoh's desk. Manta was a bookish type, always shoving his nose into a huge dictionary that he carried around everywhere. His golden blonde hair was swaying gently in a slight breeze poking through the opened classroom window. His uniform, in great contrast to Yoh's, was buttoned, tucked in, and ironed. Manta was a great deal shorter than Yoh, but since they both were sitting, no one was the wiser.

There was something different, however, about both Manta and Yoh. Yoh was a shaman, a person who could communicate with ghosts and use a ghost's powers as his own. Manta could see ghosts, but couldn't use their powers in the same way Yoh could.

"Thank God…" Yoh moaned. It was the first time he had sat in a chair in class for a good five days. That was Anna's doing.

"She won't have a chance to slap me today," Manta smiled. Anna also smacked Manta with embarrassing regularity.

"I guess so…" Yoh was crying, he was so happy. "I say after school we go for shaved ice."

"Sounds good," Manta said. "But after that it's study club."

"Gotcha."

Suddenly their teacher entered. He was a middle-aged man with a stubby mustache and hair that reached the halfway point of his neck. He looked the part of a lazy good-for-nothing. Behind him was a girl with cropped brown hair. Her hair fell down in a large piece on the left side of her face. On the right side, her hair was tucked behind her ear. Her school uniform had to be buttoned, whether she liked it or not, and a small tie rested in the collar. Her uniform was long sleeved, and her pleated skirt was olive green. Reaching her knees were black button-down boots. Her green eyes flittered confidently across the room.

"Class, we have a transfer student from the Minato district of Tokyo. Her name is Kimaguire Okono."

Kimaguire smiled. "How do you do?"

The guys in the class were pretty much stunned by her good looks. She didn't seem to notice as she took a seat near Manta. Yoh looked at him from across the row. Manta looked sort of sweaty.

Yoh felt a bit sweaty, too. Kimaguire was beautiful and Yoh already was feeling the nauseating sensation of a crush. This wasn't going to turn out well, though, for he was engaged to marry Anna Kyôyama.

Anna was easily the foulest person in class, a sassy chick with blonde-brown hair that made the guys fall on themselves. She had come to Funbari Hill, where Shinra Private Junior High was located; searching for Yoh after her parents had arranged Yoh's marriage to Anna. Yoh hated her guts. Anna hated Manta. Manta thought Anna was rude. Glad we're clear on that.

Kimaguire was a very attentive listener throughout class, despite the fact that Manta saw at least ten guys slip notes to her. She never read any of them… until the bell rang and there was a free period.

"Ha… sure you do… I can't even read this…" Kimaguire was whispering to herself when Yoh thudded his head onto his desk and Manta pulled up a chair. Kimaguire suddenly alerted herself of their presence nearby. Kimaguire walked over and pulled up a seat.

"Hey," Kimaguire said.

"Hey," Yoh replied. He was trying to read Manta's notes on English sentence structure. His nose was dangerously close to the paper.

"Why are you so close to the paper?" Kimaguire inquired. She looked over Yoh's shoulder, accidentally brushing her arm against his back. He began to sweat.

"Um… er…" Yoh was at a loss. Manta could tell.

"Why are you sitting in a chair?" A cold, hard drawling voice was directly behind Yoh, Kimaguire and Manta. Manta and Yoh knew that voice instantly and became stiff. Kimaguire was a bit clueless until she turned around.

"Oh, hi," Kimaguire beamed. Her happiness was a bit contagious, as Manta and Yoh felt a bit better about Anna's uninvited presence.

Anna looked at Kimaguire with intense interest. "Who are you?"

"Didn't you have a fever?" Yoh asked. Anna turned from Kimaguire to Yoh.

"Stow it," Anna glared. "Get off the chair. You know the drill."

"What's up with you?" Kimaguire scoffed. "Talk about Ice Queen."

Anna raised an eyebrow. "Who are you, anyway? You never answered."

"Kimaguire Okono, age thirteen," Kimaguire stated. "And you are?"

"Anna Kyôyama, thirteen as well," Anna responded. "New to class?"

"Um, yes…" Kimaguire admitted. Yoh was getting worried for Kimaguire's safety. No one had ever had a conversation with Anna without being slapped, kicked, or bullied. If that didn't happen, usually a ghost got shoved into their system. Yoh knew only too well.

"I'll show you around," Anna offered. Kimaguire was suspicious, but she followed Anna anyway. As they left the classroom, Yoh slammed his head down on the desk.

"She's got a death wish," Yoh moaned. Manta looked equally pallid.

"If Kimaguire comes back unscathed, I'll pay for the shaved ices."

-!

"This is the cleanest bathroom in school. The only disadvantage is that the left-hand sink sprays water everywhere," Anna explained. Kimaguire smiled.

"I tweaked my old school's faculty faucet so it would do that. Never caught me," Kimaguire confessed. Anna looked intrigued.

"You know, everyone is scared of me," Anna clarified. "They call me all this crazy crap – a demoness, a psychopath, the scourge of God…"

"You mean…" Kimaguire sobbed. "You don't have any friends?"

Anna was a bit shocked by Kimaguire's up-front nature, but she looked concerned. No one had ever looked concerned about her, Anna Kyôyama.

"No," Anna said. "I kind of like it that way. I have acquaintances…" Kimaguire thought immediately of Yoh and Manta.

"Well, I've never had any friends either," Kimaguire added.

Anna was shaken. How could such a pleasant, happy girl have never had any friends? She wasn't cold, or manipulative, and she was definitely not a nerd.

"What about all those guys?" Anna asked incredulously.

"Gold diggers," Kimaguire said coolly. "None of them would want me if they knew the real me."

The bell rang and Kimaguire headed off to class. Anna followed her.

"The real you…?" Anna scrutinized.

Kimaguire turned around just before she walked into the classroom. "It's why I never had any friends. It's why all my boyfriends dumped me. And it's why I moved here."

Anna watched Kimaguire as she walked into class. Anna followed, sitting down in her desk. She noticed something.

"Yoh, get rid of the chair. Now."

-?

"The real you…" Anna mumbled as she walked to the shaved ice place with Yoh and Manta.

"Hey, Manta, it's your treat," Yoh smirked. Manta sighed.

"I can't believe it," Manta kept muttering under his breath.

"What could she have meant…?" Anna mused. Manta perked up.

"What d'ya mean?" Manta asked. Anna slapped Manta.

"Zip it, shrimp," Anna said, cold as ice again. They stood in front of the shaved ice store, waiting in the line for about five minutes. Once they finally got to the front of the line, a happy girl wearing an apron with brown, cropped hair happily waited on them.

"What can I get you…?"

Anna gasped. "Kimaguire?"

Kimaguire smiled. "My caretaker lives above this store. So what can I get ya?"

"Oh don't ask me, Manta's ordering," Anna sneered. Manta sighed again.

"One melon ice, one strawberry ice, and… er, Yoh, what do you want?"

"Two pink lemonade ices," Yoh said.

"All right, your total comes to 6.75," Kimaguire stated. Manta forked over some money, and Kimaguire went behind the counter to get the shaved ices.

"Isn't the place above this that burned-out Chinese restaurant?" Yoh pondered aloud.

"Maybe she's with Wooden Sword Ryu and his gang," Manta thought.

"No, they live somewhere near us…" Anna corrected.

"That's weird…" Yoh cocked his head. "Who lives in that Chinese restaurant?"

"Here ya go!" Kimaguire held out the tray with the four shaved ices. "Have a nice day!"

Anna, Manta, and Yoh sat down at a table far away from prying eyes. Yoh put a portable memorial tablet on the surface and pushed one of the pink lemonade ices in front of it. The line had disappeared and Kimaguire looked around at the customers. She quickly eyed Yoh in the secluded corner, sticking a spoon straight into one of the lemon ices.

"Here you go," Yoh whispered to the tablet.

Out of the tablet popped a ghost. He was dressed like a samurai, with blonde hair poking out of a messy short ponytail. His eyes were cold, and his outfit was completely frayed.

"Thank you for the shaved ice, Lord Yoh," the ghost said thoughtfully.

"Anytime, Amidamaru," Yoh smiled and dug into his own ice.

Kimaguire turned away and walked upstairs to the burnt-out Chinese restaurant. A pretty teenager sat on a chair near the corner, fiddling with some beaded necklaces. Her short green hair had been done up in chopsticks today, and her long evening-gown-like Chinese dress was shining in the beautiful sunshine. He was looking directly at Kimaguire.

"Kimaguire, what's up?" the girl said. Kimaguire looked completely shell-shocked.

"Tao Jun…" Kimaguire gulped. "There's this guy downstairs… with a spirit partner…"

Tao Jun smiled. "Why does this surprise you, Kimaguire? You've seen ghosts before. You even have one of your own."

"It's not the ghost that scares me…" Kimaguire was breathing heavily. "It's who has the ghost…"

"I see," Tao Jun admitted. She knew exactly how it felt to find out something like that. She wasn't going to involve herself, however.

"If you want a break, you can have one," Tao Jun offered. Kimaguire unpinned her nametag and took of the apron.

"Thanks," Kimaguire said. "It's the end of my shift, anyway."

Tao Jun looked out the window. The sun was brilliantly shining outside, and as she looked down, she saw Yoh, Anna and Manta leave the shaved ice shop.

"Beautiful day," Tao Jun commented, but she realized whose ghost Kimaguire had seen.

...

"Ugh, I can't take it!" Yoh yelled. Anna jumped a few feet, and Manta fell over.

"What's got you so worked up?" Manta asked.

"Who lives above the shaved ice shop?!" Yoh cried. Anna heaved a great sigh.

"Still stuck on that?" Anna looked coolly at both Manta and Yoh. "It makes no difference, really."

"I have a feeling," Amidamaru said. He was floating over a low kotatsu at the moment. "Maybe it's just me, but this girl… Kimaguire… she seems very in tune with the spiritual plane from my standpoint."

"Get over it," Manta dismissed the theory. Anna thought of something.

"The real you…" Anna breathed. What if Kimaguire was a shaman, like Yoh?

Yeah right, Anna thought. She's probably got some ESP or something along those lines. She was probably a shrine priestess before she moved there.

"Well, I still think who lives in the Chinese restaurant is insignificant," Anna scowled. Yoh banged his head on the kotatsu.

"It's killing me!" Yoh moaned. All of a sudden Wooden Sword Ryu popped out of nowhere. He had black hair that used to be in the form of a very long pompadour, but it was cut off. He wore a white polyester suit and shiny shoes.

"That Chinese restaurant is cursed!" Ryu warned. Anna jumped backwards.

"Where'd you come from?!" Anna cried.

"I lost my ultra-pompadour for the second time in that place…" Ryu began to sob. "It's too much!"

Anna looked strangely at Ryu. "Well, the place is cursed," he moped.

"Her caretaker is probably the lady who used to own the shaved ice shop," Manta offered.

Ryu snapped to attention. "Whose caretaker?"

"Kimaguire Okono," Yoh said. "She's really pretty and she escaped Anna unscathed."

Anna kicked Yoh. "Why I…"

"Pretty?" Ryu said. He got stars in his eyes. "I'm gonna go find this Kimaguire girl!"

"Wait Ryu -!" Yoh's desperate attempts of gathering Ryu's attention failed abysmally. Ryu ran out the door and off to find Kimaguire.

"You had to say she was pretty," Anna scoffed. Yoh banged his fists on the table.

"Why is this bugging me so much?" Yoh yelled. He slipped his legs under the kotatsu and pulled a pillow off the nearby couch. "Goodnight."

"Lazy idiot," Anna muttered.

!!

"Ren, where were you?" Tao Jun sternly asked a boy of about Manta's height and age. He had black pointed hair, cold yellow eyes and a slim frame. In his hand was a trunk.

"Cram school, remember?" Ren snapped. He dropped the trunk onto the floor and sat in a chair. Kimaguire turned around from a tapestry she was trying to hang up again. She had knocked it over the other day.

"Hey, Ren," Kimaguire smiled. Ren smiled back.

"Hello, Kimaguire," Ren replied. "Anything interesting today?"

"Well, I found out this guy in my class is a shaman, and it really scared me!" Kimaguire went a bit pink. "I thought I was the only psycho at Shinra."

"No," Ren grinned wickedly. "No, I don't think you are."

"Kimaguire, what are you doing?" Tao Jun asked. Kimaguire was still trying to hang the tapestry up.

"I knocked this tapestry over yesterday," Kimaguire smiled through a mouthful of decorative tacks. "Just hanging it up again." Kimaguire took a tack from her mouth and hammered it in the wall.

Suddenly a huge bang echoed from the nearby door. Kimaguire fell over. Tao Jun immediately darted over to an oblong coffin. Ren looked at his terrified sister and then a shaken Kimaguire. He sighed and opened the door.

"What are you doing here?" Ren sneered to Ryu. Ryu looked inside, but Ren flipped open the trunk nearby and snapped a large spear together in less than three seconds. The spear blocked Ryu's view completely.

"Um… can I see Kimaguire?" Ryu asked hopefully. Ren scowled.

"What do you want with her?" Ren barked. The spear was still dangerously close.

"Ren," Kimaguire instructed. Ren dropped the spear. He was emotionally attached to his sister's charge, as it were. And as so, he obeyed Kimaguire's wishes.

"I don't think I know you…" Kimaguire admitted.

"You know Yoh, right?" Ryu smiled. He thought Kimaguire was more than pretty – she was gorgeous.

"Yoh?" Ren and Kimaguire said simultaneously. Ren glared at the floor and Kimaguire went a bit pink.

"Yes," Kimaguire replied. "I know him…"

"What are you doing?" Ren barked at Kimaguire. Kimaguire backed up.

"It's impolite to thrust a spear in front of someone's face," Kimaguire smiled mockingly. Ren went red and picked the spear up and shoved it at Ryu.

"I don't know why you're here, but I want you to leave," Ren instructed. Kimaguire looked at Ren with angry murderous intent, but Ren still insisted on making Ryu leave.

"I'm sorry," Kimaguire apologized for Ren. "Perhaps I'll see you again."

Ryu grinned. "Okay." Ryu left and shut the door behind him.

"How rude can you be, Ren?" Kimaguire yelled.

"There's something about that guy that creeps me out," Ren said in his defense.

"When he said Yoh's name, you went all rigid! What's up with that?"

"Nothing," Ren responded. "It's nothing."

"Are you sure it's nothing?" Kimaguire asked haughtily. "You were pretty stiff."

"I'm sure it's nothing, Kimaguire," Ren said.

Tao Jun knew better. Ren was still smarting from his defeat at the hands of Yoh Asakura and his samurai ghost Amidamaru. Tao Jun knew that Yoh was an extraordinary shaman, for she had battled him herself, but Ren was determined to get Amidamaru for his own. Tao Jun was now a bit frightened about what Ren might do if Kimaguire overheard the truth.

...?

Kimaguire was the envy of every girl in Shinra Private Junior High by the end of the week. All the girls found her beauty unparalleled and constantly went to her for tips on makeup and hair care. The single guys were constantly trying to garner Kimaguire's attention, so her notebook would have a different note in it every period.

The only people who respected Kimaguire as equals were Yoh Asakura, Manta Oyamada, and Anna Kyôyama. Kimaguire always hung out with them during free periods, came over to Yoh's for study club, and even ditched a spot at the super-exclusive popular table to be with their group.

Of course, the rest of the school viewed Anna as an ice queen, Manta as the biggest nerd ever, and Yoh as a secluded nut job. But Kimaguire didn't care.

Anna still wondered about 'the real Kimaguire' one Friday morning. Anna and Kimaguire were walking to school together when Kimaguire ducked into an alley.

"Anna, I have to show you something," Kimaguire explained. Anna nodded and watched.

Kimaguire stuck her hand down one of her black boots and pulled out a memorial tablet. Anna gasped. She was a shaman.

"Arukamisu!" Kimaguire yelled, holding the memorial tablet before her. The memorial tablet resonated with a white light and the ghost of a woman appeared before Anna.

The woman wore a black cap with a veil in place of a brim. Her hair was dusty blonde-brown, and she wore a priestess' top. It was light gray with red lining and a black bow on the top of the collar where the edges met and a black sash around the waist. Underneath was a black camisole with crisscrossed straps and a set of normal straps next to it. She wore a black necklace with a small black prayer bead. Her skirt was red and her heels were black. In her hand was a large sword with a jade handle.

"So, you are a shaman," Anna said. She pressed her thumb against her lips. "Well, I have some secrets of my own."

"I saw the samurai ghost," Kimaguire cried. "At the shaved ice shop."

"Well, that's not mine; that's Yoh's," Anna corrected. "I'm an Itako – a channeler of sorts."

Anna pulled out some prayer beads from her book bag and showed Kimaguire.

"Prayer beads…?" Kimaguire realized something. "So… you can summon ghosts from the afterlife, Yoh is like me, and Manta…"

"Manta can see ghosts," Anna admitted. "But he can't use them." Anna turned serious. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Like I said earlier," Kimaguire noted, "I lost all my friends after I exorcised a demon out of one of them last year. My boyfriends all dumped me when they saw Arukamisu. I came here to train... and to leave all of that behind."

Kimaguire set off for school again, and Anna followed him.

"Anna, could you not tell anybody about this?" Kimaguire asked. "Especially not Yoh."

"Why not Yoh?" Anna inquired. "He'd help you out."

"Because I…" Kimaguire became a bit pink. "I… he just can't know, okay?"

Anna looked at Kimaguire hard. Her eyes were a bit glassy, but nothing out of the ordinary.

Could she like Yoh…? Anna thought as they walked into the classroom, Arukamisu tucked away into the memorial tablet in Kimaguire's boot.

Ren snickered from his hiding spot in the alley.

"That samurai ghost will be mine…" Ren grinned malevolently. "As will Kimaguire."

?!

"I get a chair today…" Yoh smiled happily and slowly sank into the chair. "Bliss."

"It's a chair, numbnuts," Anna scowled. "Get over it."

"He hasn't seen a chair in over a week," Manta retorted. Anna slapped him.

"C'mon you two!" Kimaguire said desperately. The class bell had just rung and everyone was taking his or her seats for algebra.

Kimaguire silently took out her notes for algebra, ignoring the three notes that already had sailed into her book bag. She listened attentively to the teacher until…

A huge crash rattled the classroom. Yoh's hand strayed to his pocket, where Amidamaru was hidden. Manta grabbed his dictionary, pretending to look something up, but really getting ready for an attack. Anna reached for the prayer beads in her backpack. Kimaguire rubbed her ankle discreetly, making sure that Arukamisu was still there.

But oddly enough, the class was still going. Yoh, Anna, Manta, and Kimaguire were the only ones who felt the crash. Kimaguire looked behind her in just enough time.

She could have sworn that Ren was sitting in the back of class, his kwan dao leaning against the wall. On his face was a wicked smile. Kimaguire looked at Anna, her face clearly asking if she'd seen anything. Anna shrugged, then looked to the exact spot where Ren had been just moments before. He was gone.

Kimaguire gasped. If Ren really had been there, something was up. Either that or it was just Kimaguire's overactive imagination.

...!

Kimaguire walked alone to her house that day. Anna said something about Yoh's special intensive training program, and Manta left before Anna had the chance to slap him again.

As she walked, she felt a strange breeze play behind her. She whipped around and saw Ren.

"Ren!" Kimaguire gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to ask you something…" Ren smiled, the spear in his hands.

"Yes?" Kimaguire inquired. A note flittered out of her notebook. "Oh, wait, sorry…"

Kimaguire looked at the note.

_Strange as it may seem, _

_I really do love you_

_Always and forever_

Kimaguire read the signature line of the note. Her voice caught in her throat as thousand-year-old Chinese magic worked its spells upon the girl. Kimaguire felt her face blush bright red.

"Ren… it's beautiful…" Kimaguire threw her arms around Ren. Ren smiled slyly.

"Kimaguire," Ren asked calmly, "there's something I want you to do for me."

"Anything for you," Kimaguire breathed. Ren knew then that the magic had worked, and that the cursed paper had done the trick.

"Remember Yoh Asakura?" Ren inquired.

"Yes," Kimaguire replied.

"I need his ghost… the samurai," Ren requested.

"All right, leave it to me," Kimaguire said airily. She pulled the memorial tablet out of her boot and summoned Arukamisu.

She turned Arukamisu into a spirit flame. A spirit flame looked like a fireball with a face. Spirit Flame Arukamisu floated near Kimaguire's hand, and Kimaguire pushed the flame close to her body.

"INTEGRATE!" Kimaguire yelled, and within seconds the spirit flame had submerged itself into Kimaguire. Kimaguire now reached down the other boot and pulled out a sword. It was similar to Arukamisu's, with a jade handle, but a bit shorter.

Kimaguire turned to Ren and smiled malevolently. "I'll get that samurai ghost for you, Ren. Don't worry!"

!

Yoh was asleep, legs under the kotatsu, when the doorbell rang. Yoh slept right through it, but Anna heard the sound. She took one look at Yoh. He was beginning to drool. She heaved a sigh and opened the door.

Possessed Kimaguire was waiting for Anna. She stuck the sword adjacent to Anna's heart.

"Where is the samurai ghost?" Kimaguire barked. Anna's first impulse was to laugh, thinking it might have been just a stupid gag, but that definitely wasn't a joke. Her eyes widened.

There was something definitely wrong with Kimaguire. Her eyes, normally a light green, were deep black. Resonating around her was very strong spirit energy. Anna tried to back up, but a kwan dao stopped her straight in its path.

"Kwan dao?" Anna gasped. Only one person she knew of had a spear like that. And he was a major slime…

"Now, where is the ghost?" Kimaguire asked again. Anna looked behind her. If she took one step backward, to reach for her prayer beads and exorcise the demon inside Kimaguire, her feet got chopped off. If she moved closer, the sword was pierced into her heart.

"Kimaguire, what are you doing?" Anna whimpered. Kimaguire showed no response to Anna's remorseful tone.

"I don't want to kill more people than I have to," Kimaguire stated coldly. "But maybe he would be pleased with your body as well…"

Anna jumped out of the way of both the halberd and the sword. She avoided Kimaguire's wild swing with the halberd and grabbed the prayer beads off the ground.

Anna tried to get the beads around Kimaguire, but she was wicked fast. Kimaguire jumped on the wall, pushing off to avoid Anna.

"I don't want to fight you, Anna," Kimaguire cried. "I'm supposed to incapacitate Yoh and take his ghost. But you're in my way!"

Yoh began to stir from under the kotatsu. His legs were warm. He smiled then heard a rattling crash, then a scream.

Anna was kneeling down on the carpet. Her arm displayed a large gash. It was shallow, but it bled moderately. Anna was breathing heavily as Kimaguire placed the kwan dao at Anna's neck.

"Cockroaches die hard," Kimaguire scowled. "But die you must."

Anna looked up, frightened and in obvious pain, but she couldn't keep her mouth shut. "That line's been used before."

Just as Kimaguire screamed in anger, Yoh dashed into the room and stopped abruptly.

"Stop!" Yoh yelled. Kimaguire turned her head slowly.

"What a coincidence… just the person I wanted to see," Kimaguire sneered malevolently. "Hand over your samurai… and I might not hurt you."

Yoh frowned. "You aren't Kimaguire."

"Oh really?" Kimaguire smiled viciously. "How can you be so sure?"

"You're possessed… you have to be," Yoh mumbled.

"Who said that?" Kimaguire walked towards Yoh. "So you thought that you were safe from Ren. You should have known…" Kimaguire snickered. "My love would come for you. And he will."

Anna fell backward. "Your love?!"

Manta appeared from the corner of the room. "I think I know who lives in the Chinese restaurant…"

Kimaguire was still focused on Yoh. "Give it to me, Yoh."

Yoh was adamant. "I'm not gonna hand over Amidamaru. Sorry."

"All right then…" Kimaguire raised her sword and dropped the halberd on the ground. "If you won't give him to me, I'll take him by force!"

Kimaguire jumped downward, swinging her blade down forcefully. Yoh jumped away just in time.

"INTEGRATE!" Yoh yelled, flipping his memorial tablet around. Amidamaru shoved himself inside Yoh's body, and Yoh went stiff. Then he grabbed a sword off the kotatsu, holding it to his side.

"I don't understand what you're up to, Kimaguire, but…" Yoh blocked one of Kimaguire's frenzied shots. "…I'm not gonna lose!"

"Fat chance," Kimaguire said, stopping momentarily. Yoh took the opportunity to try and strike her sword, but she seemingly vanished into thin air. Yoh looked around, clueless, not aware that Kimaguire was behind him. Kimaguire kicked him down. He hit the floor hard.

"Poor Yoh Asakura," Kimaguire moped falsely. She grabbed the halberd and put it to Yoh's neck. "I was hoping that you would be a more worthy opponent. How you beat Ren… the world may never know."

Kimaguire was about ready to strike with the halberd when something tripped her up and made her fall. The halberd landed harmlessly behind her.

Kimaguire looked at her feet, which were now bound with Chinese prayer beads. Anna stood behind her, clutching the other side of the prayer bead necklace.

"Slipped up, now did we?" Anna scowled. "I don't know what's up with you, but I'm going to make it stop."

"Yeah right," Kimaguire said frantically. Without warning Kimaguire slapped Anna's hand with her sword's hilt. Anna let go of the beads in pain, allowing Kimaguire to grab them and swing them around Anna's neck. The newly fashioned noose steadily took Anna's breath as Kimaguire grabbed the beads tighter.

"Stay out of Yoh's fight," Kimaguire mumbled. Kimaguire dropped the beads. Anna collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily. Kimaguire turned to Yoh, who had since gotten off the ground.

"Now the fun begins," Kimaguire smiled evilly, grabbing the kwan dao off the ground once again. Yoh still gripped the sword firmly. His own blood, from Kimaguire's kick, dribbled down his chest and onto his belt buckle. Yoh looked down then snickered.

"You're good, Kimaguire Okono…" Yoh jumped out of the way of Kimaguire's lunges. "You just aren't good enough."

Yoh jumped out of the way of Kimaguire and thrust his sword in her direction. Kimaguire narrowly missed, but a piece of paper began to poke out of her pocket.

Manta gasped as he saw some black energy resonating from the tiny slip of paper.

"Yoh, paper!" Manta yelled. Kimaguire and Anna looked at Manta.

"Paper?" Anna repeated incredulously.

"What are you talking about, shorty?" Kimaguire said mockingly. Yoh saw the paper too. He backed up into a wall ten or so feet away from Kimaguire.

Kimaguire looked from Manta to Yoh. She burst out laughing. "You're pathetic, Yoh. Quite pathetic…"

"Let's see who's laughing afterwards," Yoh stated. He drew his sword. In a lightning fast motion he began to swipe.

"Shock Wave…" Yoh became ready to swing. "…BUDDHA GIRI!"

Kimaguire looked shockingly at Yoh. The paper fell to the ground, slit in half. She glanced at Anna, still gasping for air, an amazed Manta, and Yoh…

Yoh was smiling. Kimaguire fell to the floor, her eyes welling up with tears as she hit the ground. She looked at the blood on her shoulders and arms, then to the kwan dao lying near her feet. She sniffled loudly.

"I did something bad… very bad…" Kimaguire was sobbing hard on the floor. "I can't remember… something very bad…"

Yoh walked over to Kimaguire and put a hand on her back. "It's okay."

"Yoh…" Kimaguire turned his way. Her eyes were dabbled with tears, her cheeks flushed completely red from the stress, and… she looked beautiful.

"How touching."

Ren stood on the kotatsu, frowning maliciously. He was obviously very annoyed.

"Hey Ren," Anna snapped. "Got a question for you." Anna whipped out her prayer beads and flipped them around Ren's feet. Typical idiot, wasn't expecting an attack from below. Or an attack with prayer beads, for that matter. Ren got tossed backward, his feet bound and his hands completely useless, as his kwan dao was lying five feet away at Kimaguire's feet.

"What did you do to my friend?" Anna finally said, pulling Ren to about three centimeters away from her face. Manta and Yoh toppled over.

"Friend…?" Yoh gasped.

"Anna can show feeling?" Manta cried. Kimaguire scowled.

"Well, of course," Kimaguire sneered. "She's not heartless. Where'd you get that idea?"

Yoh and Manta didn't answer.

"Nothing much," Ren answered Anna. "Just brainwashed her."

"Nothing much, huh?" Anna screamed. "She tried to kill me and Yoh!"

"Exactly what I wanted her to do," Ren explained. Kimaguire grabbed her memorial tablet from her boot and summoned her spirit partner, Arukamisu.

"Go home, Ren," Kimaguire yelled. "INTEGRATE!"

Arukamisu stared Ren straight in the eye. Her sword was aimed at his heart, but instead, Arukamisu whacked him in the head with the hilt of the blade. Ren was out like a light.

"Why not kill him?" Anna asked. Kimaguire exorcised Arukamisu. Arukamisu floated gently over Kimaguire's head.

Kimaguire looked at Ren, definitely less threatening-looking now that he was sawing logs. "He's my brother… maybe one day I'll feel like that statement's true."

...&?

Tao Jun remembered vividly that cloudy day. It was so gloomy and dreary – so naturally, Ren was trying to ambush Yoh. Tao Jun was closing up the shaved ice shop.

A girl was running… very fast, as Tao Jun could recall. In one hand was a memorial tablet, in the other a beautiful box. Tao Jun had watched the girl fall to the ground, out of fatigue, the box clattering to the asphalt. The memorial tablet had stayed firmly planted in the girl's hand as a demon chased her wildly.

Tao Jun had run out to the girl. Her hair had fallen in her face, and her face was remarkably ashen. Tao Jun had seen the foul spirit behind the girl. The girl suddenly awoke and grabbed the box off the ground. She flipped it open, banishing the demon ghost to kingdom come – or in his case, the underworld.

Tao Jun watched the girl fall again, this time the box had rattled open. Revealed to Tao Jun was the girl's most prized treasure… a picture of a fellow shaman… one she knew quite well, ironically enough.

Tao Jun snapped out of her daydream.

_That was the first time I saw Kimaguire, wasn't it? _Tao Jun thought. Kimaguire opened the door to the Chinese restaurant. She looked mad.

"Tao Jun, your brother possessed me!" Kimaguire blurted out without coaxing. Tao Jun looked at Kimaguire confusedly.

"He does go overboard, doesn't he?" Tao Jun muttered. "I'm sorry, Kimaguire…"

Tao Jun smiled. "Do you still have your pager? And… the box?"

Kimaguire pulled the box out of her pocket. Inside were the picture and the pager, given to her by the coordinators of the Shaman Fight. Kimaguire pulled out the weathered picture of Yoh Asakura.

"He's the one my parents want me to marry…" Kimaguire sighed. "… And I'll win the Shaman Fight and make him mine…"

Tao Jun shook her head. "Just be careful. That's all I ask."

The End

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Shaman King. This has been determined to be factual.


	2. Sands of Time: Part Two

The Sands of Time

A Shaman King Story

Written by Satine89

Faust VIII was rather mad. Not only had he lost his third match in the Shaman Fight– no, there was more. Some pinheaded idiot with a huge pompadour had defeated him on his way to his hotel. He hated life at the moment; just one loss away from being eliminated from the Shaman Fight... but life suddenly seemed worth living after he took a few more steps.

Standing and staring at the stars was none other than Tao Ren, looking very secluded. His black hair fell into cat-like yellow eyes as he looked into the deep blue majestic sky. On another note, about his hair – it was very… erm… pointy. But anyway, his school uniform billowed slowly in the wind, the tie slowly lifting with the steady rhythm of his chest. Ren's hands were in his pockets, obviously fiddling with something.

Faust VIII smiled wickedly. He could salvage what was left of the day. He ran his fingers through the shoulder-length blonde hair lying on his shoulders and flipped a large metal chain silently out of his coat. Attached to said chain was a human skeleton, rattling eerily.

Tao Ren wasn't paying any attention. He just stared blankly at the stars.

Faust VIII placed his hand near the skeleton's skull. It was filled with a strange glow.

"Attack, my dear," Faust VIII instructed. The skeleton freed itself of the chain and crept slowly towards Tao Ren.

Ren turned a little too late. He was blasted into a nearby wall; a small splatter of blood was left behind. Faust VIII giggled.

"This is great," he murmured as the psycho skeleton did his bidding.

Tao Ren, however, did have a reason for fiddling with his pocket, as it seemed. He removed a memorial tablet from it, swinging it around his hand expertly.

For those who don't know, a memorial tablet is – for some – a shaman's most important tool. It contains his or her guardian ghost, which the shaman will precede to 'integrate' into his own body and gain its powers. (Yes, it sounds confusing, I know, but you'll figure it out.)

A shaman (for instance, Tao Ren) is a person who takes a ghost's powers and uses them, whether it be for battle or for heroic deeds. In this case, Tao Ren is using his ghost to protect himself.

Tao Ren jumped out of the way of the skeleton and placed his free hand on the memorial tablet.

"INTEGRATE! BASON!" Ren yelled. At once a vapor-like ghost entered Ren's body, and Ren's eyes flashed red. Ren summoned a spear from seemingly nowhere and slashed at the skeleton.

However, Faust VIII's warrior was very powerful, and was not only able to avoid Ren's attack, but also slashed Ren in the chest. It wasn't very serious, but the steady trickle of blood shocked Ren.

"So maybe today will turn out okay after all," Faust VIII mused happily.

"Doubt it," said a voice from behind Faust VIII. He turned – like Ren – a little too late, for he was smashed in the head by a nunchaku.

Tao Ren dared to look at the person who saved him. He was rather surprised when the person flipped her boyishly short hair when she turned around.

"Might wanna stare at the stars somewhere else," she said. Her voice was stable yet oddly startling. "Maybe you would've remembered to use an Over Soul if you hadn't been so spaced-out."

"Thanks," Ren replied. He watched the girl flip the nunchaku into a hip strap. She smiled, noting the blood that had stained his school uniform indefinitely.

"Y'know, you should try to stay alive for the Shaman Tournament," she snickered, then walked into the darkness.

??

Kimaguire just scoffed at Ren. Kimaguire Okono had beautiful brown hair and large green eyes that were constantly glittering. Right now she was clearing off the table and placing dishes in a white porcelain sink.

"Really, Ren?" Kimaguire sneered oddly. Since she lived with Tao Ren, Ren was Kimaguire's surrogate brother, but that hadn't stopped Ren from liking her. They were on better terms now.

"I'm not kidding, Kimaguire," Ren countered. "She saved me from Faust VIII."

"I have to agree with Kimaguire," sighed a girl with green hair in the corner of the room. This was Tao Jun, Kimaguire's legal guardian and Ren's older sister. Her floor length dress was black and adorned with a dragon pattern. On the top there was a little morbid-looking panda head. Jun was currently scrubbing a rice bowl from inside the sink. "It's rather odd that a passing ninja would save you – from Faust VIII, no less."

"I'm not lying, Jun," Ren groaned.

"There are other ways of getting our attention," Kimaguire smirked.

"Shut up," Ren said through gritted teeth. He was near the boiling point.

"Okay, Ren, whatever," Kimaguire shrugged. "Just so you know, it's a little too early for you to be losing your mind -"

Ren had, evidently, had his fill, and was now pointing his kwan dao at Kimaguire's neck. Kimaguire carefully slid her right hand down her boot, out of view from Ren.

"Ren, you must learn to control that nasty anger of yours," Kimaguire sighed. "If your attitude was even just a hair closer to Yoh Asakura's, just maybe –"

Kimaguire had said the wrong thing, because before she knew it, Ren had swiftly knocked her off her feet. She lay sprawled upon the floor, looking Ren directly in the eyes.

"Don't say his name," Ren breathed. Kimaguire knew she had reached a touchy subject, for Ren and Yoh Asakura – her secret boyfriend – were rivals, not only in the Shaman Fight, but in the love department as well.

"All right!" Kimaguire growled. She pulled herself up and began to clean the table off again. "Don't have a cow, Ren…"

Kimaguire stared at her cherished box. A glamorous silver rectangular treasure, embedded with tiny diamonds, glistened at her. The box was her parent's sole way of protecting their precious daughter – no one except Kimaguire quite knew how this box worked. Even though Tao Jun had asked many times, Kimaguire never told.

But inside the box were even greater treasures to Kimaguire – a weathered picture of Yoh Asakura, given to her by her father. He was the one that Kimaguire had always spied on from her perch near Mt. Azuba while he trained. He was the one that Kimaguire followed to Tokyo, with that little box to guard her. He was the one that her parents wanted her to marry.

Tao Jun walked into the room as Kimaguire looked at the old beaten-up picture. Kimaguire was very tender with the photo, handling it as if it were sacred.

"Looking at your picture, Kimaguire?" Tao Jun asked. Kimaguire turned red.

"Don't tell Ren. He'll... flip out," Kimaguire whispered.

"Don't worry," Tao Jun reassured Kimaguire. "Ren will never know, okay?"

"If you say so, Tao Jun," Kimaguire breathed. Kimaguire and Tao Jun were more than girl and guardian. They were like sisters, understanding and helping each other every step of the way.

"Lights out," Tao Jun instructed Kimaguire. Kimaguire put the picture back in her special box and placed it gingerly into a special drawer. Kimaguire plopped herself into bed, and Tao Jun smiled.

"Good night," Tao Jun called.

"Good night," Kimaguire yelled back.

Ren said nothing. He was already asleep.

-

Her black trenchcoat flipped in the wind surrounding the dark alleyway. Her brown hair, in a boyishly short style, was hidden under a simple baseball cap. She was thinking about the dark teen she had just saved.

_Was that Tao Ren? _she wondered innocently. _Is that the one?_

She shrugged, for she knew that she'd know if that was Tao Ren by the end of the week. She'd also know why _he_ had assigned her to such a powerful yet bleak teenager.

As she walked the streets of Funbari Hill, she saw a burned-out Chinese restaurant. There was a light on, and her stomach grumbled. She was very hungry.

She climbed the back stairs and knocked on the door.

Tao Jun pulled herself away from Ranma ½ to answer the door, and found the woman at the doorway.

Immediately the woman turned pink with embarrassment.

"I'm so sorry – I saw the sign for the restaurant… I'm very sorry, miss… I'll go now…"

"Wait," Tao Jun urged, just as the woman was about to leave. "Do you need some food?"

"If it won't trouble you terribly… I just moved here…"

"Well, come in, I don't mind," Tao Jun smiled reluctantly.

...

"I'm sorry, I didn't introduce myself," the woman said after Tao Jun had heated her a heaping bowl of rice. The woman politely ate with a special pair of chopsticks, extracted from her coat. "I'm Tan Myu."

"Tan Myu… one of the elite shaman bodyguards, the Tans?" Tao Jun stammered.

"Yes, I'm a Tan," Myu smiled. "I don't like flaunting it, however. It's a name, not a title."

Tao Jun was amazed at Myu's modesty.

"I'm Tao Jun," Tao Jun responded. Myu looked amazed.

"You're a Tao?!" she gasped. "Wow… you guys are the best of the best…"

"I wouldn't say that," Tao Jun said humbly.

"But the Taos… they're amazing shamans… all of them are, like, Shaman King material. Especially that one, Ren Tao. D'ya know him?"

"I've met him," Jun lied.

"Yeah… I've always wanted to be the one lucky enough to be assigned to him… it'd be an honor for a teen like me…"

"You're a teenager?" Jun stuttered. She was sure that Myu was older. Her appearance was very mature.

"Yeah… only fourteen… heh, my mom got started when she was seven," Myu commented. "It's my first time outside of my home."

"Wow…" Tao Jun smiled. Myu was definitely more amazing than she would ever be.

A flush briefly interrupted their conversation, followed by a crash and the grumbling of Kimaguire as she returned to her room, injured but now with an empty bladder. It was, apparently, just a slight upside.

"Who's that?" Myu asked. "If it's not prying, I mean…"

"Oh, that's Kimaguire Okono. I'm her legal guardian," Tao Jun explained.

"I saw her in the Shaman Fight… she's extraordinary… especially when she faced Faust VIII. That was nothing short of amazing…" Myu stopped her stream of praise. "But I don't see your name in the Shaman Fight documents, anywhere."

"I didn't enter," Tao Jun said stoically. "I had no reason, with another Tao in the contest."

Myu nodded. "I see your point. I didn't enter the Shaman Fight either. Personally, I had no desire to. I just need to perform my job."

Tao Jun shrugged. It sounded reasonable to her.

Tan Myu set down her chopsticks. Her rice bowl was empty and – very strangely – there was no trace of the slightest crumb. "I best be going."

"Are you sure?" Tao Jun asked.

"Yes, I have a room," Myu prompted. "Thank you very much."

And just like that, Myu had left. Tao Jun shivered.

"There's something wrong with her," she thought aloud, picking up the spotless rice bowl and inspecting it closely.

-?!

Evening at the Asakura household was a very noisy affair. Usually the first thing that happened was a giant argument between Yoh's friends Horohoro and Wooden Sword Ryu. Then, once either Yoh or Manta had managed to cook something edible, Anna Kyôyama would start some sort of off-handed riot. Once everyone had finished eating, there was always a quarrel over who would clean the dishes.

Yoh Asakura sighed. Today was a similar day. He pulled his hand through his disheveled black hair and put his trademark pair of headphones behind his ears. Two long bangs poked out of the rest of the hair. He was covered in Band-Aids from his special intensive training program, but that's not what irritated him.

Horohoro and Ryu were at it again. Horohoro was an elemental shaman with a very short attention span. His blue hair was spiked and held back by a headband, given to him by his Ainu tribe. His emotions were always changing. Ryu was a high-school semi-punk with a huge pompadour – or at least, had a huge pompadour, before Yoh and Ren cut it off. He was also very easily lovestruck.

"No! That is so not true!" Horohoro yelled.

"Yes, I'm telling you, Faust VIII lost the last match to Kimaguire Okono!" Ryu yelled back.

"Yeah right! That girl couldn't squish an ant!"

"Are you nuts? Her oversoul is an early 20th century assassin!"

"So what?"

"Just shut up," Anna moaned. She was an ice queen, and that's an understatement. Her brown-blonde hair fell onto the pages of the book she was reading, and her red bandana tie fell down her black dress limply. Her prayer beads tinkled on her neck.

"Yes, Boss Anna," Ryu responded immediately. Ryu felt a certain attachment to Anna.

"But Kimaguire couldn't have defeated that bloodthirsty killer!" Horohoro protested.

"Oh, she could have if she wanted to," said another person, who was curled up in a comforter. His blonde hair was considerably more normal-looking than Yoh's. His short stature was obviously no big deal to anyone around him, and by the figure was a large dictionary/encyclopedia.

"How'd you figure, Manta?" Ryu asked curiously.

"She did beat up her half-brother," Manta reminded them.

"Well, I would have done the same!" Horohoro protested.

"You barely know Kimaguire, Horohoro," Anna claimed. "I'm her best friend. And I know that Kimaguire could beat someone like him."

"But Yoh didn't manage to beat him!" Horohoro screamed.

"Kimaguire is… different," Yoh finally commented. "…Faust would be no problem for a person like her… if Faust wasn't so psycho, I could see those two being good friends…"

Horohoro was completely blank.

"How do you know this?" Manta asked.

"Hey, yeah," Anna murmured angrily. "How do you know that?"

"Tell us everything!" Horohoro exclaimed nosily, no longer blank.

"Something's up here," Ryu commented.

A little flying person (with short black tresses) that had been following Horohoro cooed happily.

"Kororo says that Yoh's been holding back!" Horohoro grinned. Kororo cooed again.

Yoh clunked a memorial tablet onto the table. "What are you trying to say?"

As the argument went on, Tan Myu sniggered from her hiding spot by the window.

_So they're all connected to Kimaguire Okono_, she thought. _Perfect… they'll all be mine._

XD

Horohoro took to wandering around the city while Anna, Yoh and Manta were in school. Wooden Sword Ryu had completed high school and was training (for what, Horohoro had no clue), and besides, Horohoro didn't really like hanging out with him.

A figure trudged down the street behind him and Kororo (who was floating gently over Horohoro's shoulder), following him ever so precisely. Horohoro flipped himself around, but he saw no one. Horohoro shrugged and turned, only to see the person who must have been following him.

"Oh, you must be Horohoro," the girl said. Her hair was very short and brown, a baseball cap flattened on top of her head. She was wearing a trenchcoat that looked very comfortable in the wintry weather. It was Tan Myu.

"Um, yeah…?" Horohoro replied. He wasn't so sure about this person.

"It's an honor to meet such a qualified shaman like you," she stated. Myu placed her hand out for Horohoro to shake. Horohoro, albeit rather suspiciously, shook it.

He felt something start to drain at his very mind, and his eyes immediately closed from a blinding pain. Horohoro groaned slightly as Tan Myu sealed Kororo into a small glass vial. Myu let go of Horohoro's hand.

Horohoro didn't realize he had lost Kororo until Tan Myu had left. He opened his eyes about three minutes later, finding himself down on his knees on the sidewalks of Funbari Hill.

"Kororo?" Horohoro asked in a whisper. His head swung around, looking for his beloved nature spirit. "KORORO!!"

!!

"Horohoro, what on earth are you doing?" Ryu asked, watching Horohoro search frantically through the Asakura's backyard. Ryu's spirit, Tokagero the bandit lord, hovered a few feet over Horohoro.

"Perhaps he buried something, Ryu," Tokagero thought aloud. Tokagero had pallid skin, black hair in thin strips held together by a hair band, and a full set of bandit's armor. Tokagero was so thin that you could see his ribcage through his skin. (Creepy, no?) Tokagero also resembled a lizard, an image displayed on his helmet of sorts.

Horohoro scowled. "She was a pretty strange girl, to run off with –"

"Pretty?" That was all it took for Ryu to run out the door with Tokagero.

Horohoro sighed. "I meant _really_ strange, you dip…"

"Well, you can't stop him once he's off," said a droll voice from over the fence.

Anna Kyôyama was obviously off school, and had ditched Yoh, Manta, and Kimaguire in favor of dissing someone, her favorite pastime.

Horohoro jumped when he saw Anna's watery eyes glaring directly at him.

"Where's Yoh?" Horohoro asked immediately.

"Him and Kimaguire and Manta are hitting the books at Kimaguire's place." Anna noted the look of horror on Horohoro's face and added, "Ren's not there."

Horohoro growled inaudibly then turned to Anna again. "Have you seen Kororo anywhere?"

"Kororo?" Anna repeated, for the first time in her life caught by surprise. "But she's always hovering over you…"

"I fainted in the street and she was gone when I woke up…" Horohoro sighed, his eyes closed in worry.

"Too bad you didn't hit your head. It would have done wonders," Anna snapped, back to her usual laconic self.

Horohoro winced angrily at the verbal abuse then searched through the bushes again.

...!

"I still don't get it," Yoh announced finally. Both Kimaguire and Manta were at wit's end.

"It's not that hard, Yoh," Manta said with great irritation. Manta wasn't the kind that got annoyed easily, but Yoh was acting very indifferent to his math homework.

"The Pythagorean Theorem only works if you take the square root from x squared and the other number," Kimaguire explained for the fifteen thousandth time.

Yoh focused on his paper again. X squared 64 glared at him. Suddenly a lightbulb went off in Yoh's head.

"You take the square root of x and the square of 64! The answer's 8!" Yoh yelled. "I did it! I did it! I did it!"

Yoh continued to chant while Manta looked over the problem again.

"It appears he did it correctly," Kimaguire stated.

"I did it!" Yoh continued to yell. "I did it! I did it! …"

"Wow, I thought he'd never get it," Manta sighed happily.

"Let's go get shaved ice to celebrate!" Yoh cried.

"Well, now that we're done with our homework…" Kimaguire grinned happily. "Shaved ice! Shaved ice!"

"Oh all right," Manta moaned. "Sheesh, you two never give up…"

A large crash was heard outside. Yoh, Kimaguire and Manta immediately looked out the window in Kimaguire's room.

Wooden Sword Ryu had, apparently, been thrown out a window. He was bleeding badly, and Tokagero was, evidently, gone.

"Ryu…!" Kimaguire gasped. She covered her mouth with her hands in shock while Manta looked on with wide eyes.

?!

In the shadows stood a woman with short, boyish, brown hair, narrow coal-black eyes, and a terrible grin looked on. Tokagero had been imprisoned inside a memorial stone, wrapped with chains, a hand dangling it before Tan Myu.

"Myu, my sister-in-law," the voice stated without any fear or detachment. "All we need now are the ghosts of Asakura and Tao. Once those distractions are gone, we can kill Okono and revive _her_... it turns out Okono is connected to Tao after all. She'll do fine."

"What do we do with the ghosts after that?" Myu asked, the same wicked snarl playing across her face as she watched her brother-in-law suspend Tokagero before her.

A smile was barely visible in the mire-like shadows. "We do the only thing we can."

"Send them to Heaven," Myu finished. The chains shook as Ryu bled on the nearby sidewalk and the pair walked away from the scene.

oo--!

"So… the womanizer is in critical…" Ren read off the newspaper's front headline. He looked over the paper at Kimaguire. "Rather strange… he was pelted through a window, it says."

"Ryu's not the kind to get in a brawl," Kimaguire bit her tongue. Ren could tell she was very worried about her friend.

"It's not like he threw himself through the window…"

"No girl has ever beaten him, no matter what kind of off-kilter comments he utters…" Kimaguire lowered her eyes to the ground. Ren continued to read the paper.

"The eyewitness says someone in a trenchcoat did it to him…" Ren cocked his head slightly as Kimaguire shuddered.

"It's too weird, Ren," Kimaguire breathed. "First Horohoro loses Kororo, now this…"

Ren looked up from the paper. "Isn't Horohoro that blue-haired idiot?"

"Yep, that's him. But Kororo and him are inseparable…"

Ren's yellow eyes flashed determinedly after a moment's reflection. "What about Ryu's spirit?"

"Tokagero… I don't know…" Kimaguire understood Ren's train of thought. "Maybe Horohoro's and Ryu's problems are connection." Kimaguire felt her eyes water.

"Then… there's only three more to get through…" Ren murmured.

"What?" Kimaguire asked. She didn't understand completely what Ren meant by 'three more to get through'.

"The only ones with guardian spirits left are you, me and Yoh," Ren murmured. "I mean, the only ones left of our friends."

"They're after us," Kimaguire whispered, her voice trembling, her back to Ren.

"There are a ton of shamans in Tokyo, with the fight and all," Ren breathed. "It could be coincidence."

"They're after us." When Kimaguire turned, Ren saw that the pupil in her eye had become jagged and the corners of her mouth were twitching. "And if we go down… if we go down…"

Ren had made up his mind. He was taking Kimaguire with him to the Asakura household to warn the other remaining shaman, before it became too late.

"We're going," Ren stated firmly. Kimaguire nodded and went into her room. She grabbed a black shoulder bag and put her special box inside of it.

_I hope we aren't too late… _Kimaguire thought desperately as she and Ren ran into the night, with their guardian ghosts, their weapons, and the special box going for them – and who knew what going against them.

x-x

Anna gazed out the window, a glazed look on her face. Yoh was sitting with his back against a coffee table, Manta by his side. Both of them had the same solemn expression. Horohoro was still searching for Kororo, but now he had proceeded to the Tupperware cabinet. The occasional clank of plastic on tile was all that could be heard.

"…I don't understand it," Yoh finally whispered. "Why would someone attack Ryu in broad daylight?"

"And why did that someone steal Tokagero?" Manta asked in the same almost inaudible tone.

"Where's Kororo?!" Horohoro yelled for the umpteenth time.

"Why is there someone in our backyard?" Anna inquired, eyes widening. She stood up and opened the paper screen door.

Tan Myu stood in the garden, watching Anna's every move.

"So someone does live here," Myu murmured appreciatively.

"What do you want?" Anna asked coldly.

"Actually, I wish to see the head of the household… I believe it's Yoh Asakura," Myu stated.

Anna dissected Tan Myu with her hardened expression, and she sensed a great evil.

"He's not here right now," Anna lied. Tan Myu sniggered.

"I believe you're mistaken," she said. Before Anna had the chance to run, a nunchaku knocked her clear across the backyard. She slammed against the brick wall on the west side of the house.

"That's been taken care of," Myu sneered wickedly before waltzing into the house through the open paper door.

Manta was the first to detect Myu's presence.

"What the –" Manta cried. Horohoro turned away from the cabinet. Yoh looked up.

Tan Myu stood before Manta, a saber ever so close to his neck.

"Manta!" Yoh gasped. Horohoro shuddered, eyes fearful.

"You're that girl I met on the street!" Horohoro yelled. "Before I lost Kororo!"

"I have the feeling I know where Kororo is," Yoh breathed, grabbing the sword Harusame from under the coffee table.

...?

Ren and Kimaguire burst through the door, but it was too late, as Kimaguire feared. Yoh was slumped on the floor, barely clinging to consciousness. Anna was still sprawled against the wall outside, Manta was unconscious as well, and Horohoro was stuffed into the Tupperware cabinet, yelling threats and expletives at the top of his lungs.

Kimaguire nearly died at the spot. It was obvious that Amidamaru was in the enemy's clutches, and that her friends were all going to be dead soon. She fell onto the ground, tears welling up in her eyes.

"We were too late, Ren… no… this isn't happening…"

Myu turned around from the cabinet that she had been kicking to look at Ren Tao and Kimaguire Okono.

"Oh good, you're here," Tan Myu sniggered. "I didn't want to track you down myself." Kimaguire shuddered, clearly disturbed.

"You're that girl who saved me from Faust…" Ren said emotionlessly.

"That was just a ploy, you stupid prat!" Myu laughed. Yoh opened his eye a sliver.

"Ren… Kimi-chan…" he moaned, even though a great pain circulated through his body.

"Kimi-chan?" Ren swerved over to see Kimaguire, grinning sheepishly, face bright crimson. He sighed but turned to Tan Myu again.

"What do you want with Yoh? And Horohoro, and Ryu?" Kimaguire yelled brazenly, before Ren even had the chance to open his mouth.

Tan Myu looked out from under the brim of her hat. "I just want my darling Eliza back."

Ren's eyes widened, Yoh shuddered (even though he was in obvious agony), and Horohoro stopped yelling cuss words. Kimaguire was the only one who didn't become speechless.

"Your Eliza…?" Kimaguire repeated.

"But how do you know Eliza?" Yoh managed to splutter out, a tiny dribble of blood forming at the corner of his mouth.

"Someone let me out of this cabinet so I can kick her sorry –" Horohoro started up once again, but Ren drowned him out.

"But you said you were a Tan…" Ren narrowed his eyes, the yellow pupils becoming all the more bloodshot. "You dirty liar."

Myu looked suspiciously at Ren. "How do you know that Eliza wasn't a shaman? That was one of the reasons she became sick… she was one of the blessed few, but her body was too weak to stand integration, and her parents were very determined…"

Ren sniggered. "Do you think I'm dense enough to believe that? I'm not completely stupid. Unlike some of us," Ren added, leaning his head discreetly towards Horohoro in the cabinet.

"You took our hospitality for granted, Myu," Ren continued. "I wasn't asleep when you visited our home… but now I know one thing. You took advantage of my sister. And now you try to kill my friends…" Ren hid his memorial tablet inside his hand as Yoh watched his every move with interest. "You will pay for this."

"But you hate Horohoro," Kimaguire said without thinking. Ren laughed nervously as Myu laughed maniacally.

"I don't want to kill them, no," Myu explained. "I only need their ghosts." Myu turned her pale face towards the only remaining girl. "Kimaguire's the one who needs to die."

"Too bad for her unfortunately," finished a voice coming from the open paper screen door.

Regrettably for our protagonists, this was Faust VIII. Dangling from his hand was a memorial tablet, wrapped in chains. Inside a belt was Kororo, stuck in a miniature glass case. Tied to Faust's pant leg was a large leather strap, tying down Amidamaru. Finally, by his side was the faithful lover's skeleton – Eliza herself.

Faust walked over to Kimaguire and grabbed her by the chin gingerly. Kimaguire watched with horror. "If only I'd met you before Eliza."

Ren whacked Faust with his kwan dao. Faust fell to the ground, allowing Kimaguire to kick him. "Don't touch her."

Faust sneered oddly. "What's she to you? She's not your girlfriend, she's not a relative…"

Ren placed the kwan dao's blade near Faust's head. "You're wrong. She's my sister."

Ren had made one crucial mistake when he threatened Faust with the spear. His movement allowed Myu to slip near his backside, with the nunchaku poised to kill.

Ren noticed too late. The nunchaku knocked him over before Kimaguire could integrate to help him. She began to cry uninhibited, free tears. Bason was imprisoned. She was going to die, no matter how strong a shaman she was. There was no one at her back this time.

-!

Yoh watched in horror as Ren was blasted into a china cabinet, the delicate porcelain shattering as Ren bled heavily. The glass had nearly impaled him.

"Ren!" Yoh cried. He couldn't move, or large gashes on the underside of his legs would bleed freely, and that would be the end of him. He had hidden these from everyone, so no one would worry more than they already had.

The endless stream of strong language had ended. Horohoro was being suffocated inside his cabinet, unable to get any fresh air.

Yoh himself blacked out as the language stopped, right about when Faust placed Ren's kwan dao at Kimaguire's neck.

"Your fate is lamentable," Faust stated. "I don't worry, however. Once Eliza is returned to me, you will become my new spirit guardian."

"Sick freak," Kimaguire breathed.

_If I become anyone's guardian ghost, I'll be Yoh's. Or Ren's, for that matter, _Kimaguire thought.

Faust began to cut, but he was doing it slowly, excruciatingly. The shallow cut began to bleed lightly down her school uniform.

Then something struck both Faust and Myu down at the same time. It was definitely a person, to be sure. The male figure looked down upon the two, his long bangs falling across the side of his face.

Kimaguire turned to Yoh. This person's bangs fell in the exact same way, the exact spot, with the exact limpness. Their eyes were the same determined amber-brown. His face, the same structure and shape.

The man let Horohoro out of the cabinet. He had blacked out, but his chest was still rising (Kimaguire could tell).

Kimaguire watched the man's long hair fall against his simple white poncho. It fell in the same pieces, the same places as Yoh's hair, except it was definitely longer. She stood silently as the person looked her over.

"Do you… are you related to Yoh…?" Kimaguire asked very slowly, so the cut on her neck wouldn't bleed too much. Tiny droplets of red traveled onto her shirt collar.

The man slowly and gently ran his finger across Kimaguire's cut. It disappeared in a small flurry of white light. "Perhaps."

"…?" Kimaguire blanked out as this other Yoh miraculously healed her wounds.

Kimaguire closed her eyes slowly, her eyelashes fluttering as she fainted. The person held Kimaguire in his outstretched arms and, very slowly, his lips met hers.

Once he pulled away from the mellow kiss, he took the spirits from Faust VIII and Myu, and somehow dispelled them using the same white light he had used on Kimaguire's wound.

But just as suddenly as he had appeared, he left, tenderly placing Kimaguire on the floor, near the now-healing Ren, Yoh, Horohoro, Manta, and the spirit mediums that this man had retrieved from Faust and Myu.

"_Smile..._"

"Kimaguire's asleep, Ryu just came back from the hospital, Horohoro's okay, Anna is ticked, and…"

Manta looked over the kotatsu at Ren. "…One of my worst enemies is calmly drinking milk in my best friend's house."

Ren's eyes gazed over the glass container, directly at Manta. "Oh shut up. I'm only here until Kimaguire wakes up."

"She can get home herself, you know," Manta pointed out. "Just because she's been asleep for three days doesn't mean…"

"I don't want her going alone," Ren stated flatly.

"You don't really need to worry," Manta shrugged. "It's not like any of us is ever walking the street alone again."

"I do see your point," Ren admitted coolly, taking another polite sip of the milk.

As he did so, Manta couldn't help but notice the large scars from the broken glass scattered across his arms – they were all over his body. Manta hadn't gotten beat too bad by the pair of creeps – just flung onto the kotatsu in the wrong place. Manta did feel a little remorse for Tao Ren.

"Why?" Manta finally asked. Ren stopped mid-sip and put the bottle down.

"What do you mean?" Ren asked.

"Why did you risk your life for her?" Manta inquired.

Ren looked into his milk. "Oh, that." Ren's cat-like eyes narrowed as he focused. "She's… my sister. I don't want anything to happen to her. I would have done the same for Jun. You would have done the same for Yoh, I'm sure."

"Yeah," Manta answered, unsure of what to say. The words sounded odd when coming out of Ren's mouth.

A large banging and crashing could be heard from Anna's room. Ren was incredibly good at tuning out the noises typical of the Asakura's place, but Manta would never get used to it.

"I wonder how bad it is…" Horohoro noted. Neither Manta nor Ren had seen him taking up the west end of the kotatsu.

"How bad what is?" Manta asked. Ren looked above him, at the steady movement on the ceiling.

"I think Anna's really mad at Yoh," Horohoro explained.

"Mad, eh?" Ren sniggered. "Oh that's nothing."

Ryu stopped what he was doing after Ren said that. (Ryu had been reorganizing the Tupperware drawer.)

"Nothing?" Ryu repeated.

"It sounds pretty bad, Ren," Horohoro countered.

Ren stared at Horohoro. "How would you know, idiot?"

"HEY!" Horohoro yelled, but before it became an all-out brawl, Yoh came downstairs.

He was covered, head to toe, in small bruises and Band-Aids. Ren smiled.

"See, not too bad, Horohoro," Ren murmured before Manta hit him in the head with his giant dictionary.

"Kimaguire's not up yet," Yoh finally muttered. "Don't bother Anna."

"We figured as much," Manta responded.

"Why was Boss Anna so mad at you anyway?" Ryu asked.

Yoh downplayed his eyes. "She… I mean, I… er…" Horohoro was hanging on Yoh's every word. "I was secretly dating Kimaguire, so she got mad."

Ren sipped his milk again. "It's still nothing."

"Wait… what do you mean, 'I was'?" Manta asked.

"Yeah, you can still date her… you just have to be really careful," Horohoro suggested determinedly. "Take her somewhere!"

"Idiot," Ren mumbled. "If you are to date her in secret, usually that would mean that no one knew. You can't even really tell her. Then there's the matter of the location. Somewhere romantic…"

"What's up with you?" Yoh asked, in his usual slacker attitude.

"Yeah…" Horohoro smiled widely. "You've been holding out on us!"

"Huh? I barely know you –" Ren stammered, but Horohoro was too overbearing for even Anna to handle. It was a losing battle.

Kimaguire opened her eyes. All she remembered was a soft compassionate kiss. Was it Yoh who had done that, like in a fairy tale? Or was it the older boy, who had a striking resemblance to Yoh? Could it have been Ren, who was for some reason compelled to do so? Was it Faust (oh God, no)?

Kimaguire suddenly ran her arm down her boot. Her memorial tablet was still there. She rummaged through the bag near her bed, finding her special box. The entire ordeal came back to her.

She looked at her neck in the mirror. The scrape was gone. It hadn't been an illusion. The man was real. And Faust had lost.

She walked downstairs, still clutching the beautiful box with her Oracle Pager and her weathered picture of Yoh inside. Horohoro was interrogating Ren, Yoh was trying to pull Ren away from him, Manta was reading and Ryu had found interest in watching Ren and Horohoro.

"What is going on?" Kimaguire asked. Her uniform still had a few bloodstains on it from three nights before, and her lips (before being tan) were light pink. She looked different.

"Kimaguire?" Ren asked.

"Kimaguire?" Yoh repeated, turning away from the conflict.

"You're awake," Ryu said happily.

"Just in time to hear Ren's confession!" Horohoro yelled.

Ren punched him. "I think not." When Ren walked by Yoh, his calmly whispered, "I'll leave you two alone."

The other Yoh was watching from his spot in the sky, on a broom.

"There she is…"

He watched the scene playing out below him.

"…No harm will come to her. I'll be sure of it."

The End

DISCLAIMER: Come on yall! Then I saw their faces… and wrote a fanfiction… but I don't own the people… except for Kimi-chan… Shaman King is not mine! I'm a believer…


	3. A Revolution in Time: Part Three

A Revolution in Time

A Shaman King Story

Written by Satine89

The dark mood that was customary for the Shaman Fight had grown even darker in the past week. One of the contestants and his sister-in-law had tried to kill another entrant. Another entrant's fiancée had beaten him half to death.

Yet even the Great Spirit, who overlooks the Shaman Fight, cannot predict the radically strange outcomes that the fight entails.

That's what makes it so interesting.

--

"But I still don't understand one thing," Tao Jun said to herself. Her green hair fell gracefully in front of her eyes. She was definitely irritated. Her floor-length Chinese dress clung to her body perfectly.

A girl staring out a window turned around. Her short brown hair, part of which fell in a large piece in front of her left eye, swished with her movement. The glistening green eyes dissected Tao Jun's gaze.

"What's that?" the girl asked. Tao Jun looked away from the floor.

"Kimaguire… who saved you?" Tao Jun breathed. Kimaguire turned back to the window to hide the fact that she was completely red.

The truth was, Kimaguire didn't even know who saved her. All she knew was that he was wicked hot, and that he seemed familiar.

"I… I don't know who…" Kimaguire responded, partially truthful.

"It wasn't me," scowled a boy sitting in a chair. His black hair shined underneath the Chinese paper lantern while his cat-like yellow eyes narrowed with malcontent. His arms were littered with small scrapes and scars, hidden partially by his school uniform. On another note, his hair was very… er… pointy. But no matter.

"I had the feeling it wasn't you," Tao Jun snapped gently.

"I watched Ren bleed," Kimaguire sighed. "It was… unsettling."

What Kimaguire wanted to say was that watching couldn't have hurt less than having your heart ripped out. But she couldn't find the words.

Ren wrapped his hand with gauze bandages. "Glad to know you care."

"You're my brother," Kimaguire smiled. "I'm supposed to care."

While it was true that Kimaguire Okono and Ren Tao were sort of like siblings, it was also true that Kimaguire wasn't related to Ren. Tao Jun had taken in Kimaguire three months before, and Ren had become her adopted brother.

"To think that three weeks ago you hated each other," Tao Jun laughed.

Kimaguire and Ren said nothing, now both really embarrassed for no real reason.

--

Yoh Asakura was half-asleep, as usual. His black messy hair fell in two long bangs to the side of his face. A pair of headphones, placed behind his ears at all times, held the rest of his hair back. His thin frame was a bit limp today, and around his muscular legs were large, wraparound bandages. His soulful eyes were vacantly staring at the living room and its occupants, all of which were silent.

Anna Kyôyama was reading a book on inn keeping. The purple prayer beads around her neck tinkled with even the slightest movement of her chest. Her black dress hung limply along her skinny frame. Her eyes were emotionless and black as pits. A large red headband held back her golden-brown hair, the tie falling along her back flaccidly. She had been set up in an arranged marriage to Yoh, which Yoh didn't like one bit.

Manta Oyamada was standing up, leaning against the wall peacefully. His hair was the same tone as Anna's, except a bit darker. He had large, expressive eyes and was a bit short for his age. Manta always carried around a huge encyclopedia/dictionary, which contained most all information known to man. Manta was Yoh's best friend and confidante.

Horohoro was very content with looking out the window at pretty sakura. He had light blue spiked hair, held in place by a black headband with a tan design going around the length of it. This headband was from the Ainu tribe in the north, were he used to live before he came to Tokyo. He had the attention span of a rodent and his emotions flip-flopped as much as a fish out of water. Horohoro became Yoh's friend after wandering into Tokyo a few months before.

Ryu Umemiya was sitting on a chair, arms crossed in thought. His black hair was styled into a pompadour, but this pompadour looked a bit messed up. This was because Yoh Asakura had cut it off at one point, and then Tao Ren did the same a little later on. His eyes were perpetually narrowed. Horohoro theorized that this was because he was always on the lookout for pretty women. Ryu considered Yoh's house a 'temporary happy place' (whatever that meant), and was pretty enamored with Anna.

All five of them had a secret, however: they could all see ghosts and otherworldly beings. Yoh had a samurai guardian ghost named Amidamaru, who had killed hundreds of bandits in his time. Anna could summon the ghosts of deceased from anywhere, even Heaven. Horohoro could communicate with his nature spirit, Kororo, a tiny, floating ice spirit. Ryu had the ghost of Tokagero, a bandit lord that – ironically – had been killed by Amidamaru hundreds of years before. And Manta, although he could only see ghosts, was invaluable help to all of them.

Their other friends, Kimaguire and Ren, shared the same secret. Ren's guardian ghost was Bason, a Chinese warlord whose vital stats were completely unknown. Kimaguire's ghost was Arukamisu, a female assassin whose favorite weapon was an ancient sword. Kimaguire also had a special silver box, which radiated a supreme power that no one could quite understand.

The silence was unbearable for all of them, especially Yoh, who had become very concerned about his friends' safety since Tan Myu and Faust VIII had attacked them.

A week ago, Myu and Faust had brutally attacked all of Yoh's friends and stole their guardian spirits in an effort to kill Kimaguire. Anna had gotten flung into a wall and, after awakening, got a nasty concussion; Manta had been thrown onto the low table in the living room and was unconscious immediately, even though he hadn't suffered any lingering damage. Ren and Yoh had undoubtedly endured the worst injuries; Ren had been impaled with shattered glass after being thrown into a china cabinet and Yoh had gotten long slashes down both of his legs, although he wouldn't explain how this happened to anyone. Ryu had, ironically, been in the hospital at the time after being lobbed through a window by Myu earlier that day; Horohoro had been suffocated inside of a Tupperware cabinet and his lungs were still recovering. Kimaguire, thankfully, was saved before she got killed, but she refused to say who saved her exactly.

Horohoro finally spoke. "What if they go after Kimaguire again?"

"Why would they do that? They already lost," Ryu countered.

"They only lost because a mysterious someone intervened," Anna clarified. "And Faust is nuts. He'll do anything to get Kimaguire."

"Myu did say that Eliza was a shaman… and that's how she became sick…" Yoh mumbled. "…That can't be true…"

"It's not," Manta sighed. "She had a very painful disease from birth… had nothing to do with shamanic power… I don't know what it is, I can't read German very well…"

"You three," Anna said as she stood up, pointing at Yoh, Ryu and Horohoro, "should worry about your upcoming matches in the Shaman Fight. If something happens to Kimaguire, we'll help her out. Don't worry."

Yoh, Horohoro and Ryu looked at their respective Oracle Pager. There were no new messages pertaining to the Shaman Fight.

"Nothing," Yoh moaned.

"Nada," Horohoro shrugged.

"Not a thing," Ryu cornered.

"I wonder what will happen next…" Manta whispered to himself.

--

"Eliza will be here with us again. Don't worry," Faust reassured Myu. His blonde hair was shoulder length and even messier than Yoh's. Dark bags under his eyes were highlighted by the super-watery silver-blue color of his eyes. Faust was very thin, thinner than Anna, but tall.

Myu's boyishly short brown hair was partially covered by a simple baseball cap. Her tan trench coat fell down the sides of her muscular legs.

"We can try to kill Kimaguire, although she's well-protected," Myu reasoned. "There has to be another way."

"Well, I have an idea," Faust grinned slightly, showing the extent of his neurosis. "We still need Kimaguire. But she has to be alive. For a time."

"What's the plan?"

Faust still had the weird grin on his face. "You'll find out soon enough."

--

Yoh and Kimaguire were sitting together in the living room. It was a cool, crisp evening, and most everyone was outside, except for Ren, who had abruptly left for some reason or another.

"I'm really scared," Yoh breathed.

"Scared? Of what?" Kimaguire asked.

"Well… I'm just… nervous…" Yoh looked into Kimaguire's eyes. "…I don't want anything to happen to you again."

"I don't want anything to happen to you, either, Yoh," Kimaguire replied. "But if Faust comes back… something will happen to me."

Yoh was blushing furiously, and Kimaguire's palms were very sweaty. They said nothing for a few seconds.

"I won't be able to live without you…" Kimaguire admitted, her eyes downcast.

"Why couldn't I have gotten engaged… to you?" Yoh asked aloud.

Kimaguire was bright pink. "Your parent's choice… not mine…"

Yoh had edged a bit closer to Kimaguire as her eyes were set on the floor. Kimaguire looked up and saw Yoh, looking at her tenderly.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Kimaguire breathed.

"Because… Kimi-chan… I really… really, I just… well…" Yoh was now red as well. "It's just that… I just realized that… you… you and I…"

Kimaguire was a pastel red, thinking about what could have Yoh so tongue-tied. He was obviously trying to tell her something… but what?

"I love you," Yoh finally said. "I really do. Love you, that is. I mean… er…"

Kimaguire clasped Yoh's right hand in her palms. "You don't have to say anything else. Because… I love you too."

Yoh was now close to Kimaguire. Very quickly, Yoh risked a small kiss. Kimaguire flushed, even though the kiss lasted about one fifth of a second. It was so soft, just like the kiss she had gotten the night Faust and Myu attacked. But this felt so much better, like a childhood dream come to life.

"…Sorry…" Yoh whispered.

"No… don't be…" Kimaguire gasped. "This was… meant to be… I think…"

Yoh smiled. Kimaguire found this to be his best feature. "I think so, too."

--

Ren was reading the newspaper inside the burned-out Chinese restaurant the next morning. He liked to know about what was going on in the world around him.

"Los Angeles Dodgers win first game in World Series, 3-0… Car bomb in Israel kills fifteen, wounds thirty-three…" Ren continued to mumble headlines as he flipped through the paper.

"Ren, have you seen Kimaguire?" Tao Jun asked from Kimaguire's room.

Ren looked up from the paper. "I think she was spending the night at the Asakura house." Ren shivered. He didn't like thinking about how chaotic that place was.

"Are you sure? Because it's not like her to be gone for so long," Tao Jun noted. "The last time she was over there, she came home at exactly eight-thirty. It's ten a.m."

Ren scowled at a particularly dirty thought, but continued to read the paper.

--

Yoh was frightened. Kimaguire was gone. She had just been plucked from the house in the dead of night, as it were. He seemed to be the only one up at seven a.m., however. Anna was awake about an hour after Yoh.

"What's wrong with you?" Anna greeted Yoh stoically. Yoh was pallid with worry and felt exhausted from searching throughout the enormous house.

"Kimaguire's not here," Yoh gasped.

"She's not here?" Anna mumbled. Her eyes became slightly glassy.

"No," Yoh shook violently. Anna placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, but Yoh just brushed it off.

"We have to look for her," Anna stated. She felt some tears form in the corner of her eye, but she fought them off.

"Faust did come back," Yoh murmured. He was still shaking.

"Yoh?"

"He did come back!" Yoh yelled. There was an uneasy silence.

Anna dropped the tray she was going to tell Yoh to clean.

"Wake up everyone, Yoh," Anna ordered. "Do it!"

Yoh and Anna spent twenty minutes trying to rouse everyone. Horohoro nearly impaled Yoh with a pot, but other than that, the two escaped unscathed.

Manta, who had spent the night as well, was already awake when Yoh had gotten to him. Anna dropped an iron tub on Ryu's head and went on her way. Yoh just grabbed Horohoro's blankets and ran like mad, being chased by Horohoro angrily.

Anyway, the group was sitting at the kotatsu, waiting for the answer to why they were roused so early.

Anna looked into the kotatsu's glass top. Her eyes were becoming glassy. "You're probably wondering why we woke you up."

Ryu rubbed his head. "Yeah. I'm also wondering why you dropped a pot on my head."

"Well, Kimaguire's gone," Anna continued.

"I know who did it!" Horohoro yelled.

"So do we," Manta responded tartly.

"How did we not notice Faust coming into our house?" Ryu asked himself.

Yoh's eyes lit up. "Yeah, how did we not notice that?"

"Well, let's get going," Anna ordered.

"But we haven't eaten yet!" Horohoro cried.

Anna got right into Horohoro's face. "Look, it's life or death here."

Anna walked outside. Yoh shrugged, and followed her. Ryu and Manta went after him. Finally Horohoro stopped moaning and walked with the group.

--

Kimaguire felt something fall on her head. She opened her eyes uneasily, and looked up. It was just a leaky pipe. But the constant falling of water irritated her. A chain kept her from wiping the droplets off.

A sudden thought struck Kimaguire. "Where am I?"

"Thank God you said something," Myu tutted. "If Faust thought you were dead, that'd be the end of me, too."

"Faust?" Kimaguire repeated weakly.

"You thought he would give up?" Myu snickered. "Oh, no, my brother-in-law wouldn't do something so foolish. Just because Hao got him…"

"Hao? Who's Hao?" Kimaguire asked. Myu looked at her curiously.

"Hao saved you, dork," Myu stated plainly.

"Oh, yeah, I knew that," Kimaguire lied.

_Hao… that name is oddly familiar._

"Well, anyway, he's knows a way to get Eliza back," Myu rubbed her hands in anticipation.

Kimaguire nearly threw up. She didn't want to know what this sick freak had in mind. "What way would that be?"

"Something that will lead to death," Myu grinned malevolently.

Kimaguire didn't think that the steady water falling on her head was so irritating anymore.

--

Ren walked to the Asakura household and knocked on the door.

"Oh, come on Kimaguire, this is ridiculous," Ren muttered to himself as he knocked on the door again.

A girl he didn't know opened the door. "Oh hi Ren!"

This girl had pink hair, and she looked younger than Yoh. Ren narrowed his eyes.

"Eh… do I know you?" Ren asked curiously.

"Oh, I'm Tamao," Tamao smiled.

"Oh. ...Where's Kimaguire?" Ren asked. He looked at Tamao's watch. It was twelve-fifteen.

"Haven't seen her," Tamao answered.

"Oh, okay…" Ren walked away.

_Well, where would she have gone?_

--

Kimaguire was still in Myu's presence.

"Oh, Miss Myu," Kimaguire asked. "Can you do something for me?"

Myu narrowed her eyes in consternation. "What is it?"

"Well," Kimaguire started, "in my family, when one is about to die, we draw the number three on a window."

"Uh, yeah," Myu cocked her head. "I guess I can do that."

Myu pulled some paint out from underneath a table, hidden in the shadows. She groped for a paintbrush underneath the same table, and found one. Myu walked up the steps, exiting the basement, leaving Kimaguire all alone in her chains.

--

Ren was wandering around the city.

"Where the heck would she have gone?" Ren asked aloud.

_I'm actually worried about her. I'm worried about someone, _Ren thought. _Even though she gets on my nerves, and she loves Yoh too much for a fourteen-year-old, and she's always getting attacked… I guess I do love her, the same way I love my sister…_

Ren saw something as he passed by. A large red three was painted on the window of a building.

"Three," Ren grinned smugly, and walked inside the building.

--

"Now where are we, Horohoro?" Ryu asked irritably.

"I think we're in Namek…" Horohoro responded, looking at a map.

"That's in a whole other anime, idiot!" Ryu yelled. He grabbed the map, turned it right side up, and handed it back to Horohoro.

"Oh!" Horohoro grinned. "We're in West Funbari Hill."

Anna looked around. "Well, there are a lot of thugs here."

"Wouldn't Faust take her to a cemetery?" Yoh inquired.

"Too open," Manta replied. "Anyone could see him kill Kimaguire."

Yoh noticed something. On the window of a dingy building, there was a large three painted on the window. But inside the building was Ren.

"Come on," Yoh beckoned. He walked into the dingy building. Anna, Horohoro, Manta, and Ryu followed him.

A little bell tinkled as the group walked inside. Thousands of anime goods were scattered everywhere. Horohoro would've started shopping if Anna hadn't hit him.

Ren noticed the group.

"Where's Kimaguire?" he asked almost immediately.

"Eh…" Yoh closed his eyes. "Well, it's actually a long story…"

"She was kidnapped," Anna stated flatly. "We don't know where she is."

Ren sort of chuckled. "Clearly not what I thought happened…"

Horohoro was the only one who remotely heard this. "Nasty."

"So why are you in here?" Yoh asked.

"Three," Ren pointed at the window.

"Right," Anna responded.

_I don't get it, _Anna thought.

Ryu noticed a staircase to the basement.

"Um, look," he said, "a creepy staircase."

"Let's go down," Yoh said point-blank.

"Yes," Ren agreed.

Horohoro had to be practically dragged down the staircase.

"Wait! My manga! Anime! Video games! Waah!"

--

Faust VIII was staring at Kimaguire. Kimaguire was doing her best to avoid his gaze.

"What do you plan on doing to me?" Kimaguire asked nervously.

"Well," Faust began, placing his hand on her cheek, "they said I could make Eliza live again if I found the right girl…"

Kimaguire watched in horror as Faust fingered her special box. "The girl with the power to send spirits to the underworld or nirvana, the woman descended from the Broken Angel…"

"What are you talking about?" Kimaguire asked incredulously.

Faust smiled oddly. "The only thing you know about your parents is that they gave you this box and that picture of Asakura, saying that they wanted you to wed Yoh."

"How'd you know that?" Kimaguire cried, fearing for her life at this point.

"What you don't know," Faust continued, unperturbed, "is that you are the child of an angel and a human, the illegitimate offspring of a woman now known as the Broken Angel.

"Your father was a doctor and shaman of immense influence. He knew everything about everyone, so when he found out about your mother, he let you be born, even though it would risk the fate of heaven and the underworld, and then sent you to a prominent shamanic family."

"That's… how…" Kimaguire was at a loss for words. No wonder she was so perfect. She was the daughter of an angel.

"But your mentor fell in love with you, when you were twelve," Faust added, "and his lust for you nearly killed him and you. The family took you away from him and erased all memories of your past, so that your mentor couldn't possibly hurt you any more than you already had been. They sent you to Funbari Hill, to find the only relative that could possibly turn your life around…"

"Stop!" Kimaguire yelled. She was still chained to her chair, and her chair was still bolted to the floor. But her eyes welled up with tears as memories she couldn't connect to any part of her life returned to her mind.

_I knew I had heard the name Hao before! _Kimaguire thought.

"So why do you need me?" Kimaguire asked. "Why can't you just leave me alone?"

Faust's eyes were narrowed, but he still stared at Kimaguire. "_The angel's daughter holds the key to awakening the sleeping woman; her blood is strong enough to rouse the dead and summon the saints._"

_My blood can raise the dead. Oh, now I get it, _Kimaguire thought.

"Give me back the box!" Kimaguire yelled.

"Well, that was random," Faust said rather plainly. "But, at first I thought it was your blood that made this box work. But now I know better."

Faust sneered. "Your Furiyoku is in this box. And if you don't have the box, you have no way to summon your ghost."

Kimaguire plunged her hand down the side of her boot. Her memorial tablet wasn't there.

"So you plan on killing me again, is that it?" Kimaguire shuttered.

"Not immediately," Faust smirked. "I have to do something first."

_If my blood is the key to awakening Eliza, then why does he say he needs to do something first?_

_Wait._

_...What if he rapes me?_

--

Ren looked on from his perch at the foot of the stairs. Faust was saying things, things about Kimaguire's past, things that chilled Ren's blood.

Yoh was there, too. Yoh became even more scared than Ren. He was glad that Anna, Ryu, and Horohoro had decided to hang back.

_I'm the only relative that could put Kimaguire's life back on track, _Yoh thought. _So who's her mentor?_

Ren looked at Yoh.

"She's a half-angel," Ren reiterated, "and her blood can revive the dead."

"So why didn't Faust just kill her?" Yoh asked.

Ren's eye twitched. "I don't know, he hasn't gotten there yet."

_"So you plan on killing me again, is that it?" Kimaguire shuttered._

_"Not immediately," Faust smirked. "I have to do something first." _

"Holy crap," Ren breathed. "We have to get her out of there. Now."

Yoh nodded, and took the sword Harusame out of its sheath, which had been put in a sling over Yoh's shoulder. Yoh put Amidamaru inside his sword, awakening the over soul.

"Shock Wave…" Yoh murmured. Harusame glowed lightly. "BUDDHA GIRI!"

The slash knocked Faust across the room. It also hit Kimaguire across the face. Her cheek began to bleed a bit.

"Kimaguire!" Yoh yelled.

Kimaguire looked up. She was scared out of her mind. "Help me…"

Ren saw Faust attempt to get up. He pulled out his kwan dao and stuck it at Faust's neck.

"Don't touch her," Ren said. "Don't even go near her!"

"Why, if it isn't Ren," Faust nodded. "I thought you had learned your lesson."

The scars on Ren's flesh were fresh as ever, but Ren didn't care.

"You freak!" Ren yelled. "I'll kill you!"

Ren didn't notice that Myu was still in the room, lurking in the shadows behind Ren. Yoh, who was trying to cut through Kimaguire's chains, and Kimaguire didn't even notice her.

But Myu put a knife to Ren's neck.

"Forgot about me, did you?" Myu snarled. Ren dropped the kwan dao. He had a smile on his face.

"Kill me if you must," Ren moaned, "but swear you'll never touch her!"

"What makes you think I'd listen to you?" Faust VIII snarled. "If I can't have her, you can't, no one can."

"Nasty," yelled Horohoro.

"Where did you come from?" Faust asked.

"Silly!" Kimaguire yelled. "GO AWAY!"

"No way am I leaving, not after this!" Horohoro cried. "I can't let him do _that_ to you!"

"That?" Yoh repeated. "I don't get it."

Ren scowled. "I would think you'd know."

"Stop insinuating things," Kimaguire frowned.

Yoh cut through Kimaguire's chains, and Kimaguire looked around.

_Where's the box? _Kimaguire thought desperately. She scanned the room. There, on a low table behind Myu, the shining box.

Kimaguire took a light step on the ground. It didn't make a sound.

"Yoh," Kimaguire whispered. "Please… cover for me."

"All right," Yoh answered. Yoh held Harusame tightly in his fist and walked over to Faust. He put the blade to his neck.

"Okay," Yoh said with deceptive calm. "Why won't you just give up?"

Kimaguire walked slowly, in the shadows, around the group. Horohoro noticed Kimaguire sneak past the crowd and waved.

Ren noticed Horohoro from the corner of his eye. "What are you waving at?"

Kimaguire's eyes bugged out, but then she began to breathe heavily. "Horohoro, you numbskull!"

Kimaguire quickly pocketed the box, before anyone could do anything about it.

Faust stared at Kimaguire, and a skeleton rose from the ground. Another followed. They weren't fleshed out, but they successfully held onto Ren's neck.

"Ren!" Kimaguire yelled. She didn't like it. She pulled the box out of her pocket.

Ren made a small gagging noise. He couldn't move his arms, which were being held back by the other skeleton.

"All right, Lady Kimaguire," Faust said, dragging himself up and flipping his hair out of his face. He backed her into a corner, in the darkness. "I'll give you a choice. I'll spare your brother if you do as I instruct, or you can unleash the power of the box on me and kill him."

Kimaguire said nothing. Both choices were unfavorable.

Yoh tried to slash the skeletons, but they forced him into a corner and grabbed his neck too.

Kimaguire pushed the box forward.

"Oh, so you'll save your own skin? That's really heartless of you, but it's what we've come to expect from you –"

Kimaguire wasn't aiming for Faust, though, because when she opened the box, she struck the skeletons. They collapsed and turned to dust. The light had barely grazed Faust's arm, causing a small cut.

Ren fell to the floor, coughing up blood and bile. Yoh stood strong still, but he rubbed Ren's back to get him better.

"So, you chose to spare your brother and your lover," Faust grinned. "Option A. You die… but only after I'm through with you…"

"Finally, we can resurrect Eliza," Myu snorted. Everyone stared at her. They had completely forgotten that she was standing there.

While everyone was staring at Myu, a blinding red light flashed through the place.

When the light stopped pulsating (about a minute), Faust was gone. Myu stood, shaking, staring at a table in the far corner of the room.

Sitting there was Hao, holding Faust in his muscular arms; his long bangs hanging in his face. His white poncho was stained with blood.

Ren wasn't coughing anymore. He stood up erratically, and moaned.

"Hao," Ren murmured.

Horohoro stopped being an idiot and grabbed his scimitar out of his giant cell phone pocket on his pants.

Yoh walked up to Hao, Harusame and Amidamaru at the ready.

"What did you do to him?" Yoh yelled. Kimaguire fell to her knees. Now that she knew about her past, painful memories connected in her mind, causing her to fall.

"Kimaguire!" Ren yelled, running to her side. He put a comforting arm around her. "What is it?"

"He saved me last time," Kimaguire whispered. "He still loves me."

"What?" Yoh screamed. "He doesn't know you!"

Hao nodded. "Yes, Yoh-sama. I indeed know Kimaguire… My time here has been interesting. I won't attack you."

"Thanks, we're only coughing up blood. We'll remember your generosity," Ren sneered. Kimaguire still shook violently.

Hao raised an eyebrow. "Until we meet again."

Hao disappeared, leaving Faust on the table before the group, Kimaguire still shivering.

--

Kimaguire laid her memorial tablet on the kotatsu. She hadn't spoken ever since they returned from the nightmare that was Faust.

Ren quietly sipped some milk. "This is disturbing."

Yoh nodded.

Horohoro sighed. "Hao loved you… is that why you're attracted to Yoh?"

"What?" Anna asked.

Horohoro placed his hands behind his head. "Think about it. They're twins, they look exactly the same… and Hao nearly killed Kimaguire through his unrequited love."

"I've never heard you say a four-syllable word," Ryu noted to Horohoro.

Kimaguire finally said something, ignoring the banter. "I don't know what to do."

Yoh took Kimaguire into his arms. "None of us do."

Kimaguire shook her head. The road to the Shaman Fight was growing bumpier indeed.

The End

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Shaman King. And there may be a fourth part, if I feel up to it.


	4. Falling in Time: Part Four

Falling in Time

A Shaman King Story

By Satine89

Ren had his head hung over a balcony. His yellow eyes gazed over the bright lights of Tokyo, his black bangs flittering in the wind. His eyes seemed to be looking at something.

"Nice to see you…" Ren didn't move as he spoke. "Hao Asakura."

Hao walked out of the shadows, his brown hair swaying gently as he did so. Ren turned to face him, his bare back leaning against the railing of the balcony.

"Why, hello, Ren," Hao sneered, his eyes narrowing in intense dislike. Ren returned Hao's pitiless stare.

"Why are you here?" Ren asked heartlessly. Hao smirked slightly.

"I only want what is mine," Hao smiled eerily. Ren rested a hand on the railing.

"You won't have her," Ren gritted his teeth. "Now leave, before I kill you."

Hao raised his palms. "I don't wish to anger you."

"Well, you are."

"I only wish to warn you… I'll get Kimaguire. I have my ways." Hao lowered his arms, and the Spirit of Fire appeared before him, lifting Hao up as if a piece of paper. The shining red apparition didn't impress Ren, as it had before.

"Coward," Ren yelled at Hao. Hao looked down at Ren.

"Don't worry, Ren. I will be back. And she will be mine."

The Spirit of Fire took Hao away, leaving the bare-chested Ren cursing under his breath in the night air.

--

Horohoro's Oracle Pager had displayed the same message for nearly a week now. Tonight, he finally went into battle again.

"Attention," he read aloud for the umpteenth time, "your next match in the Shaman Fight has been scheduled. Time, today at six in the evening. Place, the Funbari Hill Botanical Gardens in East Funbari Hill. Opponent… Mito Mitori of Japan." Horohoro played with a small piece of his spiky light blue hair as he spoke.

Ryu looked at Horohoro. "You got assigned a match. I'm jealous."

"Why?" Horohoro screamed. Ryu's pompadour bobbed with the nodding of his head.

"I've already won three matches. I don't face anyone until the second round."

"You're lucky," Horohoro scoffed. "If I lose to this… Mito Mitori person, I get kicked out of the Shaman Fight."

A scream came from outside, followed by some random yelling.

"Yoh's got his work cut out for him," Ryu sighed.

"Anna's been merciless… and things haven't gotten any better, even though Tamao is helping out with the housework," Horohoro pointed out.

A short boy with dirty blonde hair peered over the top of the low, glass-topped coffee table. "His match is tonight. Of course his training has piled up."

"Manta does have a point," Ryu nodded.

"How did you escape from Pilika, Horohoro?" Manta asked. Horohoro sunk down in his chair but didn't answer the question, instead changing the subject.

"Well, how powerful can a boy named Garo be?" Horohoro inquired rhetorically. "Sounds like a wimpy name to me."

"But Yoh's never met a French shaman," Manta added. "He could be extremely robust…"

A silence followed.

"At least no one's attacked us lately," Ryu stated.

"Yeah," Horohoro said plainly as he stood up. "I think I'll go join Yoh in training."

"Good luck," Ryu and Manta grinned. Horohoro scowled as he walked outside.

--

Kimaguire shook her head. "Ren, why are you sitting on my windowsill?"

"I can't let Hao get near you," Ren stated flatly. Kimaguire looked at her brother. His face was, indeed, emotionless, and his kwan dao stood steadily in the crook of his arm.

"But why must you follow me everywhere, and why do you care so much about me?" Kimaguire asked. Ren blushed.

"You're my sister."

Kimaguire frowned. "But you seem… very protective."

"Look," Ren yelled, "I can't let that scumbag get near you because I don't want you to die! Is that all right with you?!"

Kimaguire seemed to shrink. Ren was acting very defensive, and Kimaguire felt a bit scared.

"If I didn't know better…"

Kimaguire paused, making sure that she had the right idea.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you still loved me, Ren."

Ren didn't show how red his face had gotten. Of course he still loved her. But all Ren wanted was to see Kimaguire, standing by Yoh's side, with Hao out of the picture, with Faust gone from her life, with him watching on, smiling. He just wanted Kimaguire to be happy… and there wouldn't be any happiness for her if Ren forced himself upon her, as he had tried before.

"I just want to make sure that you aren't attacked or anything. Is there anything wrong with that?" Ren asked her.

Kimaguire lay back down on her bed, her brown hair splayed upon the sheets, looking at Ren's back. She didn't answer his question, and she wasn't quite sure if she wanted to.

--

Hao looked into the darkness of his room, Opachao staring back at him blankly.

"Master Hao, Master Yoh has his match against the Frenchman tonight," Opachao said. "And the dumb one has the match against that girl."

Hao looked up, a small grin on his face. "Yes, Opachao, I understand. Tao Ren may be constantly watching Mistress Kimaguire, but he'll be no match for me."

"Is that one of those 'once you're mind's set, you won't give up' things, Master Hao?"

Hao thought about it for a second. "Perhaps it is. But when you've wanted something for so long, it's hard to give it up, wouldn't you agree?"

Opachao nodded. "Yes."

"I hope she doesn't expect me to give up. Because I've been waiting for her."

--

"This is where the match is taking place," Anna sighed. "Apparently."

Yoh looked around the desolate area. "It's a junkyard. Why here?"

Anna shrugged. "Don't ask me."

Yoh sat down, looking around for any sign of anyone. Suddenly, a small kid walked over to Yoh and stared him in the face.

"Are you…" the kid stuttered. "Yuh Ase-kur-aa?"

"Yoh As-a-ku-ra," Yoh corrected. "You must be Garo."

"Right you are," Garo grinned. He stepped back, and Yoh finally got a good look at him.

Garo was tiny, like a little kid. He had messy brown hair, covered by a gray beret. Garo wore a gray jacket that matched the hat, a white tank top that seemed a bit too big for him, and black shorts. On his feet were two different shoes, and only the left leg was adorned with a sock.

"So… where's your over soul?" Garo asked. Yoh pulled out a memorial tablet, and out popped Amidamaru, his spirit ally.

Amidamaru had already reached for his sword. "Master Yoh, this kid… he can't be more than ten, but do you see his jacket…?"

"What about it?" Yoh asked, but Anna nodded slightly.

"I see it," she breathed. "There's blood on that jacket."

"Heh," Garo sniggered. "An orphan grabs what he can, no matter how… soiled, I suppose."

"That kid is lying," Amidamaru mused. Garo's eyes flashed daggers.

"So maybe I am. Maybe an introduction of my over soul would be pertinent."

Garo waved his hand around in the air, and a man appeared. The man appeared to be barely twenty, with black hair and green eyes. He was tall, and he carried a sword with him.

"This is my over soul, Peirot. A real gentleman, one of my best friends," Garo frowned, as if recalling a painful memory. "But then my mom killed him."

Yoh shivered. "Your mom?"

"Correct," Garo nodded. "My mom became a bit frightened of Peirot, because he joined the guard, and became a swordsman. She feared for her life because of the sword that hung around his belt. So she shot him, and I found him…

"Of course, my mom didn't know that Peirot was a shaman, and had been instructing me in the various arts of the shaman… he had been waiting for the Shaman Tournament, too. And then… the comet came, a year after his death, and I came here." Garo looked at Yoh. "Now I want to know your story."

"Okay," Yoh said reluctantly. "I came here from Izumo to train, and then this girl, my fiancée, followed me, and I made a friend, Manta, who's not here right now. But my over soul, Amidamaru, came to me after I fixed his sword… that's pretty much it."

"In other words, you've never felt heartrending sorrow," Garo groaned. "You're just a fool."

"No I'm not," Yoh said crossly. "I've felt pain before."

Garo grinned wildly. "And you will feel it again. That samurai is no match for Peirot!"

Garo drew a blade from inside his jacket. Anna narrowed her eyes.

"Okay, cream puff. Before you so mercilessly obliterate Yoh, answer this," Anna challenged Garo.

"Go on."

"Why do you think Yoh's never felt pain?"

Garo sniggered. "Just look at him. He's a skin-and-bones dork with a simple samurai for an over soul. And then there's you… you're beautiful, go out with me!"

Anna smacked Garo. "No way, twit!"

"This is a rather strange turn of events," Amidamaru noted. "Uh, can we move on…? Please…?" Yoh begged.

Garo rubbed his cheek. "Fine, Asakura. Let the match begin, if you're in a hurry to die."

Yoh gulped, but armed his over soul. Harusame, the sword of Spring Rain, glistened an eerie blue as Amidamaru stuck his soul into the sword.

The blade that Garo held glowed a shade of green, and Yoh saw that it had grown much longer than before. Yoh didn't question this, however.

"All right. Our match officially begins in a minute… excuse me, 50 seconds… so we wait."

--

Horohoro stood in the center of the botanical gardens, staring at a girl with short, piercing red hair, nut-brown skin, and ominous black eyes.

The girl's strapless blue dress billowed in the wind, as did her black trench coat. Adorning her legs were black tube socks, and on her feet were combat boots. Dangling from her ear was a long metal chain, and at the end of that chain was a glass vial that held a few drops of red liquid.

"You must be Mito Mitori," Horohoro stated flatly.

The girl grinned, her lips shining pink. "Yes. And you're probably Horohoro."

Horohoro nodded.

"This conversation is growing quite contrived," Mito sighed. "So let's start kissing!"

Horohoro blanched. "What?!"

"I like you," Mito leaned over, causing Horohoro to look down her shirt. Horohoro began to run in the other direction, but Mito grabbed the collar of his shirt.

"Come on, don't run away from me! I need to win one more fight to advance… don't you want me to advance?" Mito pouted.

"I want you to let go of my shirt!" Horohoro yelled, slapping Mito in the face. Horohoro turned to face Mito, who was rubbing her sore cheek.

"All right, you," Horohoro snapped, "if I lose this match to you – fair and square, that means no flirting – you can do whatever you want to me…"

"Anything?!" Mito nearly fainted. Horohoro grew angry.

"Not anything TOO nasty!" Horohoro screamed. "I have limits too!"

"But what if you win?" Mito asked, still lying on the ground.

"I get to kick your butt back to where you came from."

Mito made a puppy-dog face at Horohoro. Horohoro sighed.

"Fine, I won't hurt you. But if I win, I get to decide if I ever want to see you again."

"Oh, fine. You party pooper," Mito frowned. Horohoro narrowed his eyes.

"We have a minute until starting time…"

--

Yoh flipped backward, avoiding yet another jab from Garo and Peirot. Yoh had been led to believe that, even though Garo was extremely strong, he wasn't very skilled; whereas Yoh was equally strong and skilled.

Yoh raised his sword. "Shock Wave… BUDDHA GIRI!"

A swipe-shaped ball of energy pelted towards Garo, knocking him flat off his feet. A huge amount of dust kicked up, nearly blinding Yoh.

"There's no way that stupid shrimp survived that," Anna said, shielding her eyes from the sand. Then she saw a small figure arise from the giant mass of sand. It was Garo.

Garo was panting, and his over soul was spluttering, but he still stood bravely. Garo wiped some blood off of his cheek with his sleeve and scowled.

"I bet you're thinking this a tad too easy," Garo sneered.

"I'm thinking that a bowl of rice would be good right now," Yoh corrected.

"What does that have to do with anything?!" Anna cried.

"Anyway," Garo shrugged, "I was just getting warmed up."

"But you're over soul is dying out," Yoh pointed out.

Garo looked at his sword. "I suppose you're right. But that doesn't matter."

Garo took a wild swing at the ground. A large fissure opened up, between Yoh's feet. Yoh jumped to the side, where Garo was waiting for him, sword poised to kill.

Anna was on the other side, waiting silently, as she always did.

Yoh was shocked that Garo's over soul was still engaged after such a powerful move. But Yoh got up and wielded his sword once again.

"Don't worry, Asakura," Garo grinned. "Your death will be quick."

"How do you know I'm gonna die?" Yoh shrugged. Without warning, Yoh jumped up in the air. Yoh stuck his sword straight down, above Garo.

"RAPID TEMPO!" Yoh screamed. He thrust himself down to the ground. Anna thought that he had killed Garo, but when the dust settled, it appeared that Yoh had broken Garo's sword.

Anna was a bit angry with Yoh, however.

"Rapid Tempo? RAPID TEMPO?! What the heck kind of attack name is that?!" Anna yelled. "I'm tripling your training now! Rapid Tempo… geez…"

Yoh wasn't exactly listening. He just stared at Garo's shattered sword wordlessly. Garo looked up at Yoh.

"You didn't have to spare me," Garo murmured.

"I don't like to kill things," Yoh replied.

Garo stared at his sword for a very long time. "That's one loss for me… I bet you've never lost…"

"Actually, he has," said a drawling voice.

Yoh turned around, looking for the source of the voice. Garo began to look too.

"Where are you?" Yoh cried.

"Right here."

Behind Yoh was Garo, and behind Garo was Faust VIII, standing solemnly on the dirt.

--

Kimaguire looked in her mirror. She was shocked to see another face staring back at her from her bed. Kimaguire turned quickly.

"Hello, Miss Kimaguire," Hao breathed. Kimaguire crossed her arms.

"You're pretty stupid to be coming here," Kimaguire said. "Ren'll kill you if he sees you… and I'll help him."

"So cold, Kimaguire," Hao sighed. "Don't you remember how close we were?"

Kimaguire spat at him. Hao rubbed his eye, scowling.

"Fine, if that's how you think of me." Hao stood up and walked up to Kimaguire. She recoiled slightly. She was wearing typical bedclothes – a loose tank top and boxers. Definitely not what she wanted Hao to see her in…

"Shall I show you what I think of you?" Hao asked.

"Get away from me!" Kimaguire yelled. She ran out the door and down the hallway. She knew that Hao wouldn't follow her, so she dashed into Ren's room.

Ren was pulling on a tee shirt when Kimaguire came in. He turned to the panting, red Kimaguire.

"What is it?" Ren asked quickly, fearing something was amiss.

"Ren… he's here… Hao is here…" Kimaguire sighed, before she suddenly passed out, landing with a hard thud on the ground.

Ren kneeled down above Kimaguire and scowled.

_I hate you, Hao Asakura… _Ren thought angrily. _Absolutely hate you…_

Ren took his kwan dao from off of the floor of his bedroom and stood by Kimaguire, protecting the unconscious flower.

--

Manta looked up from the television when he heard the door click open.

"Hello, Yoh – WAUGH! WHY IS HE HERE?"

Faust pushed a strand of blonde hair out of his face, and looked reprovingly at Manta.

"He says something happened to Kimaguire," Yoh half-said, half-yelled. "We have to get over to Ren's place. Now."

Manta turned off the television. "Right. But who's that kid?"

"I'm Garo," the kid smiled. "Yoh just whooped my butt, but I'm gonna help him save his girlfriend so that he can make out with her!"

Anna smacked Garo. "You really should shut up."

Faust looked around the Asakura household, and then sighed.

"What?" Yoh asked curiously.

"This house reminds me… of where Eliza and I used to live," Faust whispered. Anna remained expressionless as Yoh sniffled slightly.

"Come on. We won't achieve anything by standing around," Anna said. The five walked out the door solemnly, not really sure if they were ready (Manta), fearing for their lives (Yoh and Faust), too cocky to care (Garo), or straight-faced (Anna).

--

Horohoro skidded to a halt on the dirt below. Mito Mitori was good. Not only had her over soul, a wind spirit named Tohru, managed to withstand Horohoro's icy attacks, but Tohru and Mito had gotten through to physically hurt him.

It looked like he'd be forced to kiss the chick after all.

"Not so confident now, are we, Horohoro?" Mito smiled, staring at the panting Horohoro. "Get ready to make good of your promise."

Horohoro snickered. He still had one trick up his sleeve – his trump card, the move that only one person had managed to defeat.

Horohoro balanced on his snowboard, smiling precariously. Mito narrowed her eyes, her blue eye shadow glimmering.

"Why are you grinning?" she asked.

A few flakes of snow began to fall. Horohoro jumped up at least ten feet, atop his snowboard.

"Get ready to lose, Mitori!" Horohoro yelled. "EPITTARKI UPAS-HORKKEK! ALL-SWALLOWING AVALANCHE!"

Hundreds of tons of snow erupted below Horohoro. Horohoro was surfing it carelessly, watching as Mito Mitori was swallowed by it.

The snow stopped. Slowly, Horohoro saw Mito's over soul float over the snow, quickly followed by Mito's head popping out of the snow.

"That was a dirty trick!" Mito yelled. Horohoro laughed.

"Your over soul's disengaged. You lose!" Horohoro laughed.

Mito turned red. "Fine. If Hao wasn't busy tonight, I'd go tell on you to him!"

Horohoro immediately stopped laughing. "What?"

"I lost to Hao, but that doesn't mean I don't talk to him," Mito whined. "He said he has to go find some girl he really likes and 'win her over', as he said."

"Kimaguire!" Horohoro yelled.

"Yeah, that's the name," Mito snapped her fingers. She turned to face Horohoro, but he was gone.

"Where'd you go?!"

--

Kimaguire felt her body float across a dark chamber. Slowly, as she walked, lights appeared and torches lit. Kimaguire rubbed her bare arms, trying to keep her skin warm in the terrible draft.

Suddenly, Kimaguire reached a figure. She had a feeling she knew who it was.

"Hao!" Kimaguire yelled, repulsed. "What'd you do to me?"

Hao looked a bit filmy, and Kimaguire looked at her own skin. She was 'filmy', too.

"We're in a special realm, Kimaguire," Hao explained. "One that you can't leave."

"What about my body? What happened to it?" Kimaguire asked.

"Oh don't worry. It's fine. Ren is diligently guarding it from my unconscious self," Hao laughed. Kimaguire moved backward.

"Why do you want me so much?" Kimaguire asked. She didn't understand it, and frankly she didn't want to.

Hao walked closer to Kimaguire. She didn't move, even though every nerve in her system was screaming at her to run away.

"That's right… you don't remember, do you? You don't remember why they sent you to Funbari Hill…"

Kimaguire narrowed her eyes. "Spit it out."

"I made you pregnant, Kimaguire. Don't you remember?"

Kimaguire fell backward, on the floor, her legs splayed, her eyes wide, her mouth twitching, and her arms limp. "You _what_?"

"You heard me," Hao replied. "You're fourteen now… that made you twelve then… did you think Faust was lying when he said that my love for you nearly killed you?"

Kimaguire was breathing heavily. "Why won't you leave me alone?"

"I like to finish what I start," Hao answered with a wicked grin.

Kimaguire saw Hao kneel down above her, and she kicked him in the stomach and jumped up as Hao cringed. Kimaguire ran down the hallway, her feet making soft noises as if being cushioned. But then she ran into a wall.

"A wall?" Kimaguire sniffled, a tear falling down her cheek. A hand whipped her around, and Hao stood there, his hand on her shoulder.

"There's nothing you can do now," Hao whispered.

--

Yoh, Garo, Faust, Ren, and Manta were gathered around Kimaguire's unconscious body. They stared at it blankly.

"Where's Hao?" Yoh asked.

"I don't know," Ren shrugged.

Garo narrowed his eyes in confusion. "If Yoh is this girl's boyfriend… then are you her fiancé? Oh, she's cheating on you, Yoh."

Ren became bright red. "I am NOT Kimaguire's fiancé, I'm her brother!"

"Okay, that makes sense," Garo nodded. Manta swerved his head around the plain room.

"Uh… guys, where's Anna?" Manta asked in confusion. Faust looked around too.

"Yes," Faust agreed, "she's not in here."

Ren scoffed. "Go find her if you like, I'm not moving from this spot!"

"You really are devoted, Ren…" Yoh began. "You really are… you deserve her more than I do…"

"No I don't," Ren objected.

"We both love her," Yoh pointed out, "but if she were to die, you'd probably kill yourself, wouldn't you?"

"Maybe," Ren sighed. He was obviously lying.

"If anything were to happen to her, we'd both kill ourselves, Ren. You don't have to deny it. You consider yourself her brother, but inside you love her… a lot."

Manta looked on with wide eyes as Ren stood above Kimaguire, his kwan dao in the crook of his arm, and his eyes lowered.

"I… suppose so…" Ren became all business again. "If Hao comes back for her –"

"I doubt that," Anna called from the doorway. Every eye in the room turned to her.

"Why do you doubt it?" Garo asked, a bit lost and confused.

"He's unconscious the next room over," Anna shrugged. "Rather odd, that the both of them would be unconscious at the same time…"

Faust's eyes grew a bit wider. "I know what this is. It's _ten-en _– heaven-fire. The wielder of the technique takes his own consciousness and the consciousness of another person. The two people then meet each other in a hall filled with torches and flame, as spirits – hence, heaven-fire."

"Wonderful," Garo sneered.

"Who is that kid, anyway?" Ren asked Yoh.

"My last opponent in the Shaman Fight," Yoh responded. "Pretty good fighter."

Ren shrugged. "Now how do we save Kimaguire if she's in the spirit realm?"

"We use _ten-en,_" Anna responded. Everyone in the room looked at her.

"Why?" Garo whined. "I don't want to be a spirit."

"How are we going to do that?" Manta asked.

"_Ten-en _is a simple technique. I was taught how to use it in my training…" Anna pulled of her prayer beads and placed them on the ground. Anna placed her hands at her side and began to chant, making the beads glow with power. One by one, everyone fell, Ren being the last.

Anna opened her eyes, and then her eyes closed again. She fainted, but her hands rested on her beads.

--

Anna, Faust, Ren, Yoh, Manta, and Garo landed in the hallway. Yoh heard the soft whimper of Kimaguire and immediately ran in that direction.

"Did you hear that?" Yoh asked Manta.

"Hear what?" Manta asked.

"That's Kimaguire."

Everyone followed Yoh, and they eventually found a dead end. In that dead end was Kimaguire and Hao.

Kimaguire was in the corner of a dead end, and Hao had just been knocked over. As he got up, he saw the group of people above him.

"Guys!" Kimaguire cried.

"Well, well… how'd you get here?" Hao asked the group.

"It doesn't matter!" Ren yelled. "Give us Kimaguire!"

Hao narrowed his eyes. "I remember you. Ren Tao, isn't it? You're her half-brother, right?"

"It doesn't matter what I am!" Ren cried as he jumped up. "VORPAL DANCE!"

Yoh gasped. Ren's over soul had equipped in less than .2 seconds. Ren thought he had hit Hao, so he dropped down and frowned. "Was I the only one that brought my over soul?"

Something struck Ren in the stomach. Kimaguire screamed. Hao smiled.

"It doesn't matter if I have the Spirit of Fire or not," Hao sneered, "I'm still more powerful than you ever will be."

Ren fell to the ground, grabbing his stomach and doubling over. He coughed up some blood, which splattered on the ground, but when he got up, he was smiling.

"Are you crazy?" Garo yelled.

"You're dying!" Yoh cried.

"Not exactly," Ren grinned.

--

Horohoro stared at Hao's unconscious body, resting in Kimaguire's room.

"All right, there's Hao," Horohoro shrugged. "So where's the rest of the gang?"

Horohoro saw that Hao was holding onto some beads similar to Anna's, only they were red instead of purple.

Horohoro frowned, and wretched the beads out of Hao's hands.

--

Hao had disappeared, and so had Kimaguire. Manta turned to Anna. "Okay, what happened?"

"There are only two ways to drop out of _ten-en_," Anna explained. "The itako can choose to drop out, or the itako's beads have to be taken out of the itako's hands."

"We have to leave here," Faust stated.

Anna nodded, and then focused. In a flash, everyone was back in their bodies and splayed on Ren's floor.

--

"Why'd you do that?" Hao asked Horohoro coolly. Horohoro smiled.

"Because I can!" Horohoro yelled happily. The entire gang – plus Kimaguire – entered the room where Horohoro was with Hao.

"Nice job, Horohoro!" Yoh cheered.

"Who's this dip?" Garo asked offhandedly.

Ren slunk away from the crowd and hid behind a bookcase near Hao. He placed his kwan dao in his hand, and Kimaguire knew what he was going to do – kill Hao while he was off guard.

Anna had another plan, however. She began to murmur things under her breath so no one would hear, and just before Ren emerged from his hiding spot, a blinding flash of light pierced the room.

--

"What… what is this?" Hao asked. Anna walked towards him, her prayer beads in her hand.

"Just erasing your memories of Kimaguire," Anna replied.

"Why…?"

Anna frowned. "It's for your own good. You realize that it's either this or be killed by Ren, right?"

"Ren's going to kill me?" Hao inquired incredulously.

"He'll try," Anna told him. "Just comply, okay?"

Hao nodded, and then closed his eyes as Anna used her skills to help her best friend. But she came across a memory.

_She had to. I understand. There was no way. She was dying, and there was absolutely nothing that could be done. _

_Still, I guess she wanted that child, so she asked for some help from Kino. Not a wise choice, but nevertheless, Kino saw what was left of the dead fetus. It disturbed me, so I was not there._

_Kino was a great itako, so it was no problem for her. Our child is, indeed, alive. Although our child is only two, Opachao is quite smart, and talks animatedly. _

_It's the one memory I want Kimaguire to keep suppressed. I told her that she, at one point, was pregnant with my child, but I don't want her to know that I still house and care for our child… our darling baby –_

Anna didn't erase this memory, even though she concealed the rest of Hao's memories involving Kimaguire. Anna messed around with the memory, so that Hao didn't know whose child it was…

Anna figured it was better for the both of them, and she floated over to Kimaguire's brain.

_Just some old memories to erase…_

--

The light faded. Hao opened his eyes, and Anna clutched her beads tightly. Kimaguire inhaled heavily, waiting for Hao to say something. Ren rejoined the group without being seen.

"What am I doing here?" Hao asked himself. He shrugged, and walked out the door.

The gang was speechless, but they all turned to Anna.

"Well, that's one problem taken care of," Anna sighed, following Hao out the door.

--

Fifteen years later, Kimaguire was twenty-nine. She pulled a white veil over her face. She had waited for this day for so long, ever since she was fourteen. Today was the day she became the official Shaman Queen.

Anna, Kimaguire's maid of honor, tied the bow on the back of Kimaguire's white dress. Anna's slinky black bridesmaid number made her look very professional and very pretty.

"I'm happy for you guys," Anna smiled. Kimaguire grinned back.

"But aren't you a bit hurt… that your parents cancelled the arranged marriage?"

"Oh," Anna said. "About that… they arranged a new marriage for me."

"Really?" Kimaguire asked. "With who?"

Anna turned a shade of pink. "You don't know him."

_What would you do if I told you I was engaged to Hao Asakura? Probably nothing... Not with both his and your memories erased. I don't worry about you, Kimaguire._

Kimaguire stood up and picked up her bouquet of roses. She was about to walk out the door when she turned to Anna. "Come on, Anna!"

Anna smiled and followed her best friend.

_I don't worry about you at all._

The End

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Shaman King.

A/N: This is the official end to the story. I'm sorry to say that I will not continue this story, because I feel it has sufficiently ended. And this is my Christmas gift to all of my loyal fans… I don't have many, but I love them to death…

Ren: Merry Christmas, everyone… don't get drunk off of eggnog, like I did last night…

(Satine giggles)

Satine: Oh yes. I remember that…


End file.
